Comfort Zone
by llamaglamasama
Summary: Who're you supposed to turn to if no one is around? KaitoXShinichi Rating now raised, just in case.
1. Chapter 1

YAOI WARNING!! IF YOU DISLIKE YAOI, DO NOT READ!! Warnings of slight sorta pedophilia, too.

Conan felt lousy. There was no other way to put it. He felt like crap and no one could understand why. Then again, that may have been a good thing. If they did know, the pain would become physical, and, right now, Shinichi didn't think he could handle a beating.

Usually, when he felt this down, he would go to Haibara. Sure, she was annoyingly sarcastic, but at least she could understand. Unfortunately, the mini scientist was out of town for the weekend, having gone to Hiroshima with Agasa to see some old friends of his. Of course, that left Agasa out, too.

Next on the list was Hattori Heiji. Hattori was irritating, but at least he was someone to talk to that wouldn't treat him like a little kid. As it figured, he was also unavailable; he had taken Kazuha to some police party down in Osaka.

So it was that poor Conan was left to lock himself in a bathroom at the Beika museum just to escape the questionings of 3 concerned children. Conan sat on the counter next to the sink, moping with his head in his hands.

He was, therefore, surprised when the locked door opened with a click and a slim figure drifted into his line of sight. Conan squinted his eyes to get a look at the figure and groaned when he recognized the teen.

"Go away." He mumbled.

"No." Kaitou Kid said defiantly. Conan groaned and Kid sighed. "You don't have to be alone, Kudo." Kid said in a voice that held none of Kid's usual sarcasm and playfulness.

"And you plan on enforcing that?" Conan glared.

"If need be." Kid said softly. Kid moved closer to the small boy, slowly so as not to alarm him. Conan didn't respond. "I can help you, Tantei-kun." Conan snorted. "I'm serious. I can be a listening ear, and right now, you seem to need one."

Conan stared for a long time. "I'm just… tired, I guess." He muttered, finally. He hesitated another moment before everything just spilled over his lips. "I'm tired of lying, tired of hiding, tired of just being useless, tired of seeing Ran cry, seeing all the hurt I've caused, I'm just so damn tired with life, but no one'll leave me alone. If it's not Mouri, it's Ran. If not Ran, then the kids or another of those goddamn murders that seem to freakin' follow me around and I'm tired of constantly seeing death and of dealing with other people's sob stories when they can't get over themselves and realize that life could be a helluva lot worse. I just want _five seconds_ of peace and quiet and maybe something enjoyable, ya know?" Conan brought his rant to a close and calmed down slightly. He looked up at Kid who stood there with a small smile on his face.

"Somethin' enjoyable, huh?" He asked, a mischievous grin placing itself on his face.

"Yeah, just- " He was cut off when a warm pressure fell on his lips. It took him a second to realize that that pressure was a pair of soft, silky lips and that those lips could only belong to the room's only other occupant. Then it clicked. Kaitou Kid was kissing him. _Kaitou Kid_ was KISSING him!!

With that realization, Conan jerked back. "What're you doing!" He half yelled, cheeks flaming.

"Something enjoyable." Kid said simply and captured his lips once more. When Conan began to shake, he pulled back. "Tantei-kun?"

"I'm a kid." Conan whispered. "A freaking child! I-you… I have the body of a seven-year-old!"

"So what?" Kid demanded. "Your mind is still seventeen. That's what matters!"

"No! That's not… well, yes it _is_, but… why're you even here, anyway?" Conan asked suspiciously.

"Do I need a reason to check up on my Tantei-kun?"

"You do when the meeting place is a public bathroom! And what makes you think I'm '_your_ Tantei-kun'?"

"What makes you think you're not?" Kid challenged, ignoring the first statement.

"I'm not your anything!" Conan exclaimed, glaring.

"You're my first kiss." Kid said simply.

"I- What? Your _first kiss_!? Kid's never been kissed before?" Conan chuckled slightly.

Kid glared. "I have now." He said.

"Nuh-uh. You kissed me, I didn't kiss you."

"Oh?" Kid had a teasing grin now. "I'm sure you felt _something_. Pretty sure you responded, too."

Conan's face heated up. "Did not!"

"Oh? Me thinks you protest too much." Kid grinned. "Besides, you should be glad. You've probably never been kissed before today."

"So?" Conan's face was now tomato red. "I'm not a ladies man, either."

"Hmm? Surely a Meitantei like Kudo Shinichi has a fanclub or two. That qualifies you as a ladies man."

Conan glared. "So, what are you trying to say? That I'm immature? Your one to talk."

"Well, that is one point." Kid said.

"Fine." Conan threw himself forward and crashed his lips against the Kaitou. Kid 'hmphed' in surprise, an exclamation that turned into a moan when a warm tongue slid over his lips. He complied eagerly and pushed Conan against the wall. Conan wrapped his short legs around Kaito's waist to stay up and bit down in surprise when Kid pushed against him. Kid groaned as Conan's teeth came upon his bottom lip and growled when the ex-high schooler began to nibble.

The pleasure ended abruptly, though, when the still unlocked door swung open and the two boys flung away from each other, one mysteriously vanishing. Mitsuhiko walked into the bathroom Conan had locked them out of to see the black-haired boy panting slightly, his face magenta red.

"Conan-kun? Daijobu? (Are you okay?)" The freckled boy asked, concerned.

"Y-yeah." Conan panted. "J-just fine."

"Are you sure? You seem awfully red. Do you have a fever?" He led Conan out of the restroom hesitantly.

"Eh?" Ayumi exclaimed. "You're sick, Conan-kun. No way!"

"I-yeah. Yeah, I think I'll go home. Ja ne." Conan seized the already-made excuse and clung to it. He waved to the three kids and ran off. As soon as he reached the detective agency, he went straight to the closet he was using as a room, passing by Ran without so much as a word.

The closet was small, but than again, so was he, and it was certainly better than Kogoro's booze-reeking room. He'd even been able to put a bookcase in there and a file cabinet for his case notes. All in all, it was a nice cozy room that he could call his.

Of course, he hadn't expected the bed he'd intended to flop down on to be occupied.

"K-Kid!" He gasped, face turning red.

"Hello again, Tantei-kun." The white form on the bed responded, sitting up and grinning. "You know, you're pretty cute with that blush on your face."

Conan blushed harder. "Sh-shut up! It's your fault, anyway!" He cried, indignantly.

"Oh?" Kid grinned in delight. "I made you blush, huh?"

"N-no!" Conan's face grew even redder, if that was possible. Really, messing with people's heads was so underrated.

"Really?" Conan could feel Kaito's breath on his face; the thief had gotten so close all of a sudden.

"No…" Conan whispered, eyes half-lidded just before Kid's lips met his once more. He moaned. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed the teen's heat.

Kaito pulled Conan up into his arms, pressing the boy closer to him. Conan's hands plunged into Kaito's hair, brushing the silky locks.

Kid groaned and pushed the boy down against the bed, moving his head to tongue the child's neck. Conan groaned in response, shivering.

"K-Kid." The detective moaned.

"Hmm?" The thief now occupied himself with Conan's growing-sensitive-by-the-minute earlobe.

"R-Ran…downstairs…" He mumbled.

"I know." The thief whispered in a husky voice. He captured Conan's eager lips once more before pulling away, chuckling at the detective's pout. "I have to go." He planted another kiss on the pouting mouth before vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

**What do ya think? Should I continue, or leave it as a oneshot?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for all your reviews Thank you for all your reviews. XD**

"Conan-kun!" Ran called. "Hurry up! You'll be late for school!"

"Coming!" The small boy hurriedly ran a comb through his hair and flew down the stairs to meet his 'neechan.' The two of them rushed out of the apartment, Conan with a piece of toast still in his mouth. "Ja ne, Ranneechan!" Conan waved, joining his friends. Ran waved back and continued to school.

"Conan-kun! Are you feeling better?" Ayumi-chan asked him.

"Yeah." Conan smiled as they took their seats.

"Did'ja hear?" Mitsuhiko exclaimed, "Kaitou KID sent another note!"

"Eh?"

"Yeah, the police say he's after something called the Metzger Diamond, whatever that is."

"It's a famous jewel from America." Conan said, tiredly.

"Oh…but what's Emricka?" Genta asked, scratching his head.

"America!" Conan corrected exasperatedly. "You know, the _country_."

"The diamond's supposed to appear on display in two days at Beika Hotel." Ai said from behind Conan, making the boy jump slightly. "Is our detective planning on showing up?"

"Maybe…" Conan thought for a minute. "Do you have any temporary pills made?"

"Eh? You want to appear as a teenager? You know how risky that is. Kid's heists get a lot of media coverage." Haibara stated calmly.

"I know. But I _am_ careful, ya know. Please?" Conan pulled out his puppy dog eyes.

Ai glared. "Fine. Don't get yourself killed." And with that she walked off.

Two days later found Edogawa Conan standing in the kitchen of Agasa's house. Haibara Ai glared at him, trying to figure out his motives.

"Haibara, I _promise_ not to catch to much attention! I'm gonna be wearing a disguise, anyway."

"I already agreed." Haibara grudgingly reminded him. "But why? You've been acting weirs lately, getting all excited whenever someone mentions KID." Conan's eyes took on a certain sparkle. "See?" On cue, Conan turned red. Ai narrowed her eyes.

"I just wanna catch that thief, all right?" Conan sighed, exasperatedly. Haibara gave him a calculating stare, but nodded, handing him a pill.

"Stay out of sight."

"I know."

The thief grinned from his perch a top the adjacent building's antenna. The police were just so amusing to watch, scurrying around like ants. Ah, but where was the one he was seeking? Impossible that Tantei-kun would miss a heist in Beika. He was too obsessed with justice to just let him go without a fight. Unless… no, Mouri-chan couldn't have stopped him; she was there in the crowd herself, along with her friend, the fanatic that explained exactly _why_ restraining orders were created. So where was Tantei-kun? Underneath the monocle, Kid pouted.

Oh, well. Show time.

Simple as always; a hop here, a jump there. Ooh, springboard. Whee! Check it out, dog pile on the bandit! God, I love this show. Oh damn, there's Hakuba. Honestly, does the guy have _any_ fashion sense? Wonder what he'd do if I lit that stupid hat on fire?

Hey, who's that? Nice glasses. What is he, a stalker? Maybe. With that hat and those shades, not to mention the dark clothing, he could certainly pull off the part. Okay, maybe it's time the police with my classic smoke bomb. Whoops. Well, I guess flash bomb works just as well. Damn, gotta change the texture on those somehow. That's the second time I've gotten 'em confused.

Kid launched himself around the corner, blinking blindness out of his eyes. He could feel a presence approaching him, but he couldn't quite get his eyes to adjust to the dark. 'Dammit!" He cursed. The presence suddenly collided with him, sending them both backwards. His back slammed into a wall and he heard something click shut. Finally, he was starting to make out shapes.

Oh, duh. Why didn't he realize it earlier? Of course, Shades wouldn't be affected by the flash bomb. And they were… in a closet? Oh, how cliché. Dammit, I'm so screwed! The other man, Shades, as he'd been dubbed, was panting slightly. "I-I think the door's stuck." A husky voice gasped out.

Well, damn. Kid muttered something unprintable and Shades snorted in agreement. Kid leaned back against the wall, somewhere in between all the brooms and buckets.

"Really, of all the places to get stuck in at Beika Hotel and we're left with a broom closet."

"So, Shades, I'm assuming you wanna throw me in jail, otherwise you wouldn't be here. So, why aren't you trying to catch me?"

Shades shifted uncomfortably and brown hair stuck up from under his hat. Hesitantly, Kaito reached out. When Shades didn't pull back, he removed the covering glasses from his face. His breath caught.

"T-Tantei-kun?" He murmured in surprise.

The teen shook the hat off his head and looked straight at Kid.

"Well!" Kid surveyed the detective in front of him. "You certainly look your age!"

Shinichi smirked. "I happen to prefer this form as well."

"Hmm." Kid pulled out a matching grin. "And am I wrong in assuming you're in this form for Moi?" Shinichi colored. "Oh!" Kid practically squealed in delight, something that scared Shinichi immensely. "Well, how nice of you, Tantei-kun." Kid's grin caused Shinichi to absolutely squirm, casting furtive glances at the door. Kid lounges against the wall, digging through his pockets. He pulled out the diamond and held it up to the moonlight streaming through the small window, the only illumination the room held. He sighed in disappointment when nothing happened and tossed the jewel to the detective. Shinichi caught the gem and pocketed it.

"So, Tantei-kun. Why're you not trying to catch me?"

"What makes you think I'm not trying?"

Kid raised an eyebrow. "A certain lack of handcuffs, perhaps?"

"There is more than a single method for catching one."

"Oh? And what, pray tell, are you going to try?"

"This." Shinichi leaned forward and brushed his lips against the Kaitou.

"Mmm. I fail to see how that will land me in prison." Kid murmured.

"It won't. As I said, there are different ways to catch someone."

"Ah." Kid brushed a gloved hand over the detective's cheek. Shinichi leaned into the hand's caress and sighed.

"Why do you steal?" He whispered, eyes closed.

"Why're you a kid? Most of the time, anyway."

"Touché."

"I try." Kid's hand knotted in the hair at the nape of his neck and tugged his head down, meeting his lips in a soft kiss. Shinichi willingly responded, bringing his own hands around Kid's neck, pulling him closer.

"!# & KID!!" A voice screamed, just down the hall.

"Well, that sounds like my cue to leave." Kid muttered, pulling back.

Shinichi internally cursed Nakamori. "Kid." He said, calling the thief's attention. "I _will_ catch you."

"I'll be waiting." Kaitou Kid smiled once and departed in a cloud of smoke, just before the door swung open. Shinichi pulled his disguise back on and happily left the closet as well, conspicuously slipping the diamond into Nakamori's pocket.

* * *

"So…" Haibara said, gazing up at the teenage detective. "You failed to catch Kid, you're in teenage form, and all you plan on doing is mope around the house!? Aren't you going to see Mouri-chan?"

"No." Shinichi shrugged and wandered off. Ai stared.

Shinichi sighed, plopping down on the living room couch. It was weird. Usually, he'd do anything to see Ran as Shinichi, but… all he could think about was Kid. , Why did that thief have to be so confusing?

Today had been enjoyable, that was for sure, but… okay, so it had been _really_ enjoyable, no 'but' to it. Now what was he supposed to do? Kid was a freakin' thief! Detectives and thieves do _not _mix. Well, shit. Now what?


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you all for your reviews and sorry it took so long to update.**

**Warnings of a lemon scene later in the chapter. I don't think I need to up the rating, but it is there, so skip it if you like.**

Shinichi wasn't quite prepared when the doorbell rang and Mouri Ran marched through Agasa's front door.

"Oh, Ran-kun. Is something wrong?" The old man asked nervously. Before Shinichi could make any move to get out of sight, she stormed through the hallway, stopping in front of him.

"_You._" Her voice was ice cold.

"Uh… Ran?" He scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Sonoko saw you leaving the Kid heist." She said frostily. How dare he have come to town and not let her know!

Shinichi blinked. "Sonoko? She was sane long enough to notice? Wow, and here I thought nothing got in the way of her boyfriend obsession." He muttered. Ran glared.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming back!?"

"Uh…forgot?" He tried meekly.

A vein popped on Ran's forehead. "Forgot? How could you forget!?"

"I'm sorry! I didn't-"

"What's going on?" A soprano voice asked. Shinichi's eyes widened when Conan-kun walked in.

"C-Conan-kun?" Ran turned, anger vanishing immediately. "Oh, I'm sorry. It's late; I didn't wake you up, did I?" Conan shook his head, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

Shinichi shivered. How could women go from hot fury to warm sisterly mode in the blink of an eye? Talk about creepy.

"Conan-kun, why didn't you tell me Shinichi was here?"

"Shinichi-niichan said not to cuz he was gonna leave before he could spend time with you. He didn't want to disappoint you."

"Oh. Um…I'm sorry, Shinichi. I'll just…go. Oyasumi, Conan-kun." She turned on her heel and hurried out the door, face flushing in embarrassment.

Shinichi turned to the bespectacled boy. "Haibara? How can you talk without a voice changer?"

"I can't." The blonde's monotone voice said, pulling off Conan's glasses.

"But-"

"Kid left you a little gift."

Shinichi flushed. "What?"

"According to him, he thought you were in trouble and figured you could use a little help. He said he saw Mouri-chan headed here on his flight home."

"Oh." Shinichi cleared his throat. "He's not still here, is he?"

"No." Haibara tossed the wig in the couch. "He vanished when Mouri-chan left."

"Ah. Thanks, Haibara." He slumped down on the couch again. He was due to change back in about an hour. "I think… I'm gonna go next door." He pulled himself up and departed. Haibara sighed, but made no move to stop him.

--

He paused in the doorway of the Kudo mansion. Good god, the place was filthy. Oh well, it didn't really matter; no one living there now. He moved along, glancing in doorways as he went.

"Some place you've got here." He mumbled.

"Isn't it, though?" He spun around and was vaguely aware of the front door shutting with a click. He was pinned, his back pressed up against a wall, arms cutting him off on each side.

"Well, Tantei-kun, I had no idea you were the aggressive type."

Shinichi growled. "What are you doing here, Kid? Isn't it rather risky, prowling in a detective's house, in costume no less?"

"I enjoy the thrill of danger." Kid purred.

"Is that so?" Shinichi jumped slightly when Kid wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him closer.

"What do you think?" His warm breath tickled Shinichi's face.

"You're insane." He whispered.

"What?"

"I think you're insane."

"And you'd be right." Kid kissed Shinichi's cheek, his hand gliding up to caress the detective's chest. "But then, what do they say? 'Takes one to know one'?"

"I never claimed otherwise." Shinichi's breathing was becoming uneven. He swatted away the hand that was trailing increasingly lower and pulled Kid into a kiss. He responded, opening his mouth for his rival's warm tongue. Shinichi had an interesting taste, he noted in the back of his mind, like a sweet but strong blend.

Kid unbuttoned Shinichi's shirt, his cotton gloves making an interesting feeling against the bare skin. Shinichi moaned quietly and Kid spun them around so that Shinichi was now the one pinned to the wall.

All of a sudden, Shinichi pulled back with a groan. His breathing became labored and he clutched Kid's jacket tightly. He grit his teeth as steam began to rise off his body. Kid stared in confusion until Shinichi managed to choke out "Conan." The facts clicked together in his mind and he struggled to lay Shinichi on the couch in the middle of the room.

"Tantei-kun…" Kaito looked at the detective, fraught with worry as he let out a strangled gasp. Finally, the lure of unconsciousness won, and the last thing Shinichi saw was a concerned eye through the monocle.

--

Shinichi moaned. His body was so sore and it hurt to move. With some difficulty, he propped himself up. He was on the couch in the library of the Kudo household. He was also small. It was rather depressing, the way Shinichi's shirt could cover his entire body. Funny, he could've sworn it was unbuttoned before. Maybe…nah, it'd be _way_ too risky to stay this long.

"Ah, Tantei-kun, you're awake." Kid's light voice echoed around the room.

Conan sweat dropped. Well, Kid had said he 'enjoyed the thrill of danger'. "Shouldn't you be heading home? It _is_ rather late."

"I'm supposedly sleeping over at a friend's place to work on a project." Kid grinned, dressed now as Kudo Shinichi. "My mother's worries have been put to rest."

"I'm honored." Conan said, dryly. "Lying for my sake; how noble of you."

"Noble is as noble does."

"Right." He slid off the couch and started up the stairs. "I'm going to change."

"Have fun." Kid smirked. He dodged the pillow that was thrown at him.

When Conan came back down, he hopped upon the couch and flipped on the TV. Kid joined him, snapping, and the screen instantly changed to a detective movie.

Kid was surprised when, about an hour later, the young boy curled up and snuggled into his side. Kaito smiled and wrapped an arm around him. "Sweet dreams, Tantei-kun."

--

Ran-neechan? Where are we going?" Conan asked, gazing innocently up at the girl. After he had woken up, alone, he waited until a decent time and returned to Mouri's pretending he'd come in, Ran had chased him out the door, wallet in hand.

"Sonoko's meeting us at the shopping center." She smiled down at him. "There's supposed to be a sale going on."

"Oh." Conan internally sighed. Shopping, joy. This was gonna suck.

"Ra-n!" A girl with short blonde hair called. "Let's go!" She shouted enthusiastically. She was so involved in talking with Ran that she didn't notice the figure coming around the corner. "Ow!" She was caught before she could land on her butt and blinked up at a hazel eyed blonde.

"Jeez, Hakuba! Watch where you're going!" A boy with wild brown hair and sparkling violet eyes laughed.

Beside him, a girl with messy elbow length hair smacked him. "Kaito! Be nice!" She scolded. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah." Sonoko whispered, staring at the blonde.

'Oi, oi.' Shinichi's mental alarm went off 'Boyfriend frenzy.' He glanced up at the brunette and reeled back in shock. The guy looked exactly like him!

"Sh-Shinichi?" Ran stared.

"Nope. Kuroba Kaito. Pleased ta meet'cha." He snapped and a red rose appeared in his hand. Ran accepted it, blushing.

"I'm Nakamori Aoko." The girl smiled at them, ignoring her friend's antics. "And that's Hakuba Saguru."

"Suzuki Sonoko." She gushed. "This is Mouri Ran and Chibi-chan."

Kuroba looked down at the Chibi-chan title and grinned. "Hello."

"Edogawa Conan." The boy chirped. The eyes behind his covering glasses analyzed his look alike. This guy seemed really familiar. "Tantei-san."

"Oh? Detective, eh?" Kaito trailed behind to walk at Conan's pace. "You any good?"

"I'd like to think so." Conan looked up at him. "Do you know Shinichi-niichan? 'Cause you look just like him!"

"Really? I've heard of Kudo-san. 'Think I might've caught a glimpse of him once, but, no, don't think I've ever met him."

"Oh. So…you're a magician?"

"Aye, that I am." Kaito flashed him a grin. "Yeah, pretty good, too, if I do say so myself." He snapped and a white rose appeared behind Conan's ear. Conan's eyes widened a fraction, but before he could say anything, Ran caught sight of him and squealed.

"Conan-kun, you're adorable!" Aoko joined in the squee fest and the boys backed away slowly.

"Kaito-niichan?" Conan called. "Can I talk to you?" His eyes were those of Kudo Shinichi. Kaito smiled sadly and nodded.

"Kuroba-kun?" Hakuba asked, eyes narrowing. "What's going on?"

Immediately, Kaito's sad smile transformed into a huge grin. "I think the kid likes me!" He proclaimed dramatically. Conan colored slightly and scowled. Kaito snickered and walked a ways away with Conan. "What'd ya need, kid?"

Conan snorted. "'Kid', huh?" He looked directly into Kaito's eyes. "Do you know where Kaitou KID got his name?" He asked suddenly.

Kaito looked surprised and shook his head.

"An author, Kudo Yusaku, took his criminal number 1412 and read it as KID, combining the one and the four's flag to make the 'K', the rest of the four as 'I', and the 1 and 2 as 'D'."

"Really? I'm surprised a kid your age knows that. You interested in Kid?"

"You might say I'm a…'fan'. I've been to a few of his heists with Mouri-occhan."

"Mouri? The detective?" Kaito raised an eyebrow. 'Where are you going with this, Tantei-kun?' He asked himself, trying to ignore the fuzzy feeling he got when Kudo said he was a fan. "If you're living with a detective, shouldn't you hate Kid?"

"Should I? Kid's pretty cool. Yeah, he's a thief, but he's never hurt anyone if he could help it. Overall, I'd say Kid could be a lot worse than he is."

"Izzat so?"

Conan analyzed him behind his glasses. "Oh yes. After all, he could easily kill the people he's stealing from. Instead, he leaves minimal damage and actually protects the jewel. Once it's stolen and returned, the owners but it under better security."

"Really?" Kaito looked down at him curiously. "But why tell me?"

"Kid is a showman. He likes to hear that people see the results of his work. Wouldn't you say so?"

"Wouldn't know. But, speaking as a showman myself, I'd say you've got it right."

"Ah, yes. You're a magician, right? You're also rather strange."

"Well, can't deny that. Why do ya think so?"

"I'm a kid. Without even being aware of it, most people look down on children, thinking them naïve and unimportant. You, however, have been listening to me as you would an equal."

"Really? Well, you have to admit, you don't act very childish. But you know, age doesn't determine ability." Kaito grinned.

"No, it doesn't, does it? Just look at Kid. World famous thief, internationally wanted criminal, and only, what, 17?"

"Is he? I thought he appeared before, over 8 years ago."

"There's no way that Kid is the same one. The Kaitou Kid now is definitely too young for that."

"Hmm?"

"I met the previous Kaitou Kid. I've also met the current Kaitou Kid. They're definitely different people."

Kaito started. "You _met_ this previous Kaitou Kid you say came 8 years ago? 8 years ago, you'd've been a year old! Not even, maybe!"

"Really? Maybe I'm older than I appear."

"Maybe Kid is as well."

Conan quirked a smile, "Maybe." He suddenly changed the topic. "Was your father Kuroba Toichi?"

"Huh? Yeah."

"Interesting. One of Kudo Yukiko's 'Seven Great Knights'? He…died…eight years ago, didn't he?" Conan's eyes were sad.

Kaito flinched. "Yeah, he did. What of it?"

"I bet if I looked into the date of his last performance, it would correlate with Kid's disappearance."

"Would it now?"

"Why don't you tell me?" Conan leveled him with a hard stare. "Well, Kaitou Kid?"

"Hmph. Interesting accusation. But tell me, what will you do if you're right?"

Conan shrugged. "What can I do? There's no evidence and a judge wouldn't listen to a kid."

"Really? I hear you're quite resourceful."

"Maybe, but resourceful doesn't cut it in the court of law."

"True. Then what will you do? I can't imagine a detective simply ignoring such a thing."

"You're right, I can't ignore it. I want to find out more about Kid. Why does he do what he does, why does he put himself in danger what is he really like behind the mask?"

Kaito's eyes softened slightly. "Why? A detective pursues justice. The criminal's personality doesn't matter."

"Usually. But really, it depends on how personal the case is, how important they are to the detective." Conan's eyes were nothing like a child's.

"And are Kid's cases important to you?"

Conan managed a weak half-smile. "Yes. Yes, they are." Kaito gave a genuine smile.

"Kuroba-kun?" Hakuba called, approaching them. He had an odd look on his face, questioning, as if he'd heard something he didn't understand. Or perhaps, didn't _want _to understand. "Is everything alright?"

Immediately, the smile was replaced with a face splitting grin. "Why, Hakuba-kun, don't tell me you were worried!" Kaito cackled as he teased the blonde detective. Conan smiled slightly and turned to join Ran. "Oi, Tantei-kun!" Conan's eyebrows rose in surprise. Calling him by that nickname in front of Hakuba really wasn't the best of ideas. "That was an interesting chat. I'd be glad to continue it some other time."

Conan grinned. "Un!" He called in a childish voice.

--

Conan whistled merrily as he walked next to Ran. He may be tone deaf, but at least he could whistle.

There were definite perks to being small. Not paying for everything was one. Another was not having to carry the shopping bags. And boy, there sure were a lot of them.

"You seemed to get along very well with Kuroba-san, Conan-kun." Ran grinned at him.

"Yeah," Conan chirped. "He's really nice."

"Yes, he is; Nakamori-chan and Hakuba-san, too. You know, he's a lot different than I thought. When we met him on that case, he seemed sorta different."

"He did?" Shinichi cocked an eyebrow. "Well, maybe he's loosened up around his friends."

"Yeah, I suppose so." Ran shifted her bags. "Oh! I just remembered! We need to hurry home. 'Touchan's meeting with a client at a nice restaurant and he's supposed to be there soon!" She hurried down the street, completely forgetting Conan's shorter legs.

'Damn, and there's the downside to being small. Why am I _always_ being left behind!?' He grumbled internally.

--

The dinner was nice. That was more than he could say for the client, at least. The guy Occhan was meeting with was a complete asshole. The second, and I mean the _second_, he saw a small child, he plunged into this big discussion about professionalism; this coming from the guy that hired Occhan to discover why he'd been fired. Really, as if detectives will take such cases. Whoops, spoke too soon. Of course, Occhan'll take when you throw around that much cash. Talk about loss of dignity.

Seeing as the client really _was_ a total jackass, maybe it wasn't too bad when Conan actually felt _relieved_ when he turned up dead.

The case was easy. Apparently, the guy's ex killed him for having an affair with the boss's wife - the reason he'd been fired. Really, people killed each other for the stupidest reasons.

Making up some vague excuses, Conan left Ran and her drunken father and headed to his house again. For some reason, he really liked going there. It was as if the house held all the remnants of Kudo Shinichi. He hated it for the same reason.

Flinging open the living room window, he slumped against the sill, breathing in the cool night air. "Why do people think murder will solve everything?" He wondered aloud. "It usually just creates more problems."

"It does, doesn't it?" A smooth voice said from above him.

"K-Kid!" He looked up to see the thief's grinning face staring down at him. He backed up and let the Kaitou into the room. "You really don't get the meaning of inconspicuous, do you?" Conan commented, surveying the white tux.

"Hey, it's trademark. Wouldn't wanna disappoint the fans, after all, right?" He smirked. Conan colored slightly. "Ne, Tantei-kun, you okay?" He asked, voice changing to a concerned tone.

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine."

"Don't lie to me, Tantei-kun." Kid grabbed his chin, forcing the detective to look him in the eye. "You shouldn't feel the need to lie."

Conan shrugged. "What can I do about it? I can't change my situation. Lying is becoming a regular thing, now-a-days." He remarked gloomily.

Kid frowned at him. "Would you like to be comforted?"

"Huh? What? Um…yeah, I guess. I mean-" He was cut of as Kid pulled him into a very hard kiss. "Mmp!"

"Best way to comfort someone in my book is to make them forget what's troubling them." Kid muttered against his lips.

"And you're gonna make me forget?"

"Hell yes!" Kid pushed him back onto the couch. "I don't like seeing my Tantei-kun depressed."

"I wasn't depressed." He protested between kisses. "I-ahh." He groaned as Kaito roughly forced their hips together. "Kid…Kaito…"

"Yes?" Kid buried his head in the child's neck. "I _am_ curious as to how you figured that out exactly."

"The rose. You gave Ran a red rose, but you gave me a white one. Plus, you _do_ look alike. The hat and monocle don't change your features, they just hide them."

Kaito began sucking on his neck. "Ah. Whatever. Just shut up." He bit down, causing Conan to gasp and tilt his head back to provide better access.

Soon though, Shinichi turned the tables, undoing Kid's shirt, tie, and jacket. Pulling himself up, he latched onto the pink nipple and sucked, caressing the tip with his tongue. Kaito moaned in pleasure and wrapped his arms around Conan, holding the boy to his lithe body.

As Conan switched nipples, Kaito began to get impatient. His bare hands traced Conan's small form, slipping down to squeeze his ass. Finally, he pushed Conan back and went straight for his prize. Tearing the child's pants off, he wrapped his fingers around the small, but hard cock. Shinichi's hips jerked and he yelped. Kaito silenced him with another kiss, his tongue probing the detective's mouth, memorizing everything about it.

When Conan drew back for air, the thief dipped down and wrapped his mouth around the penis, sucking gently. Shinichi moaned and his diminutive body arched up to him. Kaito was very gentle, but quite intense at the same time. His hands forced Conan's hips down as he struggled to thrust into Kid's mouth. After minutes of listening to Conan's moans and mewls, he pulled back, blowing softly on the length. Shinichi groaned, dragging Kid's head back up to his own, mashing their lips together.

Kaito stroked Conan again, his hands caressing him hard. The child's body arched violently as he came. Shinichi groaned as he slumped onto the couch, embarrassed at his rather short stamina. Kid grinned and kissed him softly before pulling back, not allowing the release for himself. He didn't want to hurt Conan's body, after all, no matter how bad the erection got. Sometimes masturbation was the only answer.

Conan pulled him down for another kiss before gathering his fallen clothing. He dragged himself upstairs in search of something clean to wear.

"It worked, ya know." He said as he searched the drawers in his room.

"Hmm?" Kaito forced his eyes away from the nude body in front of him. The urge was still very strong and his will power wasn't as good as it probably should've been.

"About making me forget. Thanks." Conan ducked his red face and pulled on an old pair of boxers. "Do you want something else to wear?"

"Huh? Uh, no, I'd probably better go soon." Damn Kudo for being so fucking hard to resist (or so bloody hard in general).

Conan pouted. "Mom doesn't know where you are?" He yawned.

"No. And as Kid doesn't have any heists scheduled tonight, she'll be wondering where I am."

"Your mom knows?"

"No. Well, she might, but I've never told her. I get the feeling that she already knows. She _did_ marry Kid, after all." Kaito smiled fondly.

"Oh yeah. Well, you don't wanna worry her any more."

Kid smirked and snapped, leaving a white rose behind as he jumped out the bedroom window and into the night sky.

Wow, was it night, already? 'Wonder what time I said I'd be home.' Conan thought, absentmindedly. He curled up in his old bed and fell asleep to dreams of a white phantom thief flying through the blackened sky.

--

"Oh crap." Kaito stumbled into his room, donned now in casual clothes. He'd made sure his mother was asleep and decided he was home free.

Dammit, it hurt. He tore off his pants and sighed as he thrust desperately into his hand. Jeez, this was pathetic. The Great Kaitou Kid, reduced to masturbation by the most primitive of human urges. This was insane. He was supposed to be in control of himself, and yet, all it took was the positive response of one detective and he was reduced to this. Really, it was embarrassing, getting this aroused from a seven-year-old. Sure, his _mind_ wasn't seven, but there was no denying the effect that boy's body had on his own.

'Okay, time to sleep.' Kaito sighed and slumped against his bed, succumbing to a dreamless sleep.

--

"Ohayo, Kuroba-kun." Koizumi Akako greeted the weary boy. "Why so tired?" She questioned

"Kaito shrugged sleepily, "Didn't get much sleep."

"Oh?" Hakuba appeared behind the thief.

"Yeah, I forgot we had homework until around midnight."

"Yeah, that English homework was confusing." Aoko agreed.

"Kuroba-kun," Hakuba called. "May I speak with you?"

"Sure." They walked down the hall to an empty classroom.

"That boy…Conan-kun…you seem close to him."

"Yeah, sure. He's a smart kid." Kaito grinned.

"Indeed. However, he seems rather…strange."

"Strange? Well, sure, what's wrong with that?"

"He's…never mind." Hakuba sighed. "Forget about it." Kaito watched as he moved down the hallway.

"Weird." Kaito shrugged and headed back to class.

--

A dark skinned teenager bowed out of the classroom apologetically to the insistent ringing of his cell phone. "Yo, Hattori."

"Hattori-kun?" An uneven female voice asked.

"Neechan? Uh, you do know I'm in school now, right?" He frowned at the muffled sob that escaped through the receiver. "What's wrong?"

"It-it's Conan-kun! He never came home yesterday!"

"What? Was he kidnapped? Did you get a ransom note?"

"No, but…Conan-kun's good about coming home on time. He-he-what if he's hurt, or-"

"Whoa, calm down, calm down! I'll get on the train to Beika, 'kay? Until then, just stay calm and talk with the police."

"Alright." Hattori hung up and ducked back into the classroom.

"Sorry, Sensei, but I gotta go. Emergency with a friend, and all that." He grabbed his bag and was out of the classroom before anyone could protest.

"Heiji, wait!" Kazuha called, running after him. "What happened?"

"I'll tell ya on the train. For now, we need to get headed to Beika." He hurried out of the school and went straight to the train station. Pulling out his cell, he dialed his father's office. "Dad? Yeah, I gotta leave. I'm headed to Beika. Nah, I should be fine. Yeah, I'll call if anything happens. Bye."

About half an hour later, they were packed on a train headed straight from Osaka to Beika. "Alright Heiji, we're settled. Now what happened?"

"Ku-ah-Conan-kun went missing. Neechan called me and was totally frantic. We don't really know if Conan's been kidnapped, but we'll find out the situation when we get there."

"Oh. Poor Ran-chan." Kazuha whispered.

The train arrived an hour later and the station was bustling with people. The Osakan duo weaved through the crowds and almost managed to get out of the station before running into anyone.

"Ouch!" Kazuha whimpered. She fell backwards and Heiji just barely managed to cushion her fall.

"Ow."

"Sorry!" A flustered voice apologized. "Here," He helped them up. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah-eh?" Hattori looked up from dusting himself off and realized the person they'd run into was rather familiar. "Hakuba, wasn't it?" He asked.

"Yes, and you're Hattori-kun, correct? Are you both alright?" The blonde asked.

"Yes, thank you very much." Kazuha smiled kindly.

"You seem in a hurry. Has something happened?"

"Conan-kun was kidnapped!" Kazuha cried. "He's the surrogate little brother of s friend of ours. Oh, I'm Toyama Kazuha, by the way."

"Hakuba Saguru, pleased to meet you. Ah, that wouldn't be the Conan-kun that hangs around with Mouri, would it?"

"Yes." Kazuha nodded.

"Uh, hello." Heiji growled. "Kinda in a hurry here, so could you two please get the pleasantries over with!"

Kazuha sighed. "Sorry, Hakuba-san. Thank you, and please excuse us." The two of them ran down the platform.

"Conan-kun's been kidnapped, huh?" Hakuba muttered.

--

The blonde detective wandered around for a while before he spotted what he was looking for. Kuroba Kaito was having lunch with Aoko and Akako under a sakura tree in the park.

"Kuroba-kun!" He shouted.

"Hakuba!" Kaito leaped up and approached him. "What's wrong, you look as if you've run all over town."

"I haven't," Hakuba assured. He leaned against a tree for a moment before clearing his throat. "I thought you ought to know, Conan-kun has gone missing."

"Missing?" Kaito paled. "Uh…you mean he just vanished or something, right? How?"

"I don't know the details, just that he's missing and assumed to have been kidnapped."

"Right, um, thank you for telling me. Aoko, Koizumi-kun, 'fraid I need to be going now. Ja." And with that he ran off down the street, headed towards the bus that would take him to Beika.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm sooooo sorry that its taken me so long to update. Thank you all for staying with the story and, of course, for supporting Shinichi and Kaito.**

Panicking, Kaito reflected, may not have been the best of ideas. Hakuba was sure to be suspicious…well, more suspicious than he was when he came to tell Kaito about Conan.

'Oh well,' he thought through his worry. 'Tantei-kun…'

Within minutes of his information via stiff-assed Brit, he was standing outside the Kudo mansion, looking critically at the porch. There were long black scuff marks going from the steps to the door.

'Much to big to be Tantei-kun.' He worried. The lock was easy pickings and he was inside moments later.

"Conan-kun?" He called out, adopting Mouri Ran's voice. "Are you here?" Silence answered him. He frowned, heading into the living room. The room was disarrayed, dust conspicuously missing from around the couch. Kaito blushed in memory, but quickly brushed it aside.

He surveyed the room, looking for anything put of the ordinary or too ordinary. If Conan didn't show up at the Mouri Agency, the first thing Ran would do would be to call Agasa. If the elderly professor didn't know where Conan was, he'd look in the Kudo mansion. The fact that word of his disappearance had gotten to Hakuba meant he clearly wasn't here. Kaito groaned. He knew all that, but he'd still hoped…

There! Some sort of white fabric was sticking out from beneath the couch. It wasn't much, but… He tugged on the white corner and drew a small handkerchief from the dust. Funny, for being on the grime-covered floor, it was still awfully white. Was it Conan's? It certainly wasn't Kid's.

Frown stretching across his face, he lifted the cloth to his face and sniffed. "!!" Chloroform…so he _was_ kidnapped, unless, of course, Tantei-kun had started carrying drugs on his person. Somehow he doubted it.

Okay, he had a clue…now what? He wasn't a detective, what was he supposed to do? Should he approach a detective? But what was he supposed to say? 'Hi, yeah, I'm Kaitou Kid. I was just searching Kudo's house cuz I thought Conan would be there.' Well, _that_ would go a long way to deter Mouri-chan's suspicions. But he had to do something…

'Okay, think. Hakuba heard about Tantei-kun from Hattori, right? And he knows about Kudo, doesn't he? So Hattori should be along presently to look for clues.' As if to emphasize his point, the door was creaking open.

'Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap! Detective's finding random people at a crime scene is never good. Time to get the hell outa dodge.' Okay, so maybe he wasn't _out_, per se, but he was hidden now, at least. _And_ he could hear the Osakan detective's deductions when he found the rag. 'And lets hope he doesn't fingerprint it. #&! I should've worn gloves. Stupid me. Wait, you can't get fingerprints off of cloth, can you?'

Five minutes later, a frustrated Hattori Heiji left the Kudo Mansion, white kerchief in hand. Kudo had been kidnapped, that was for sure, but how the hell did the little Shrimp get caught? I mean, he could kick like nothing else, not to mention those dart things and all the other gadgets he has. 'Dammit Kudo, where the hell are you!?' Hattori growled internally.

Kaito sighed. As amusing as the kansai detective could be at times, he hadn't found anything new. He stuck a bug on the dark-skinned man and let him be. Time to explore the rest of the house.

He scampered up the stairs and entered Shinichi's room. 'Hmm, nothing much here…' He fingered through the few things on top of the different surfaces. No one had touched most of it; the dust was thick.

He sighed in despair, stumbling over to the bed. Dammit, where was his Tantei-kun!? He kicked his foot out and blinked at the odd sound. Looking down, he noticed the black frames clattering across the floor. Oops.

Kaito picked them up, fiddling with them. His fingers slipped over a small, hidden button and he pressed it. An antenna popped up and a radar looking screen appeared on the left lens. "Whoa."

A small yellow dot kept blinking. Kaito stared. 'I really hope I'm not being overly optimistic here, but…that could be where Tantei-kun is, right?' He slid the glasses on, looking remarkable like a Conan-clone. "Okay, let's go." He murmured to himself, jumping out of Shinichi's bedroom window and landing in the front lawn. He took off into town, a small sliver of hope growing steadily the closer he got.

Kaito found himself chasing the dot several kilometers, hardly stopping to even breathe, much less rest.

'Okay, calm down, Kaito.' He told himself. 'Even if you get there, you won't do much good if you're worn out.' He leaned against the cement walls of an apartment building. The dot was…right above him? How accurate was this radar, anyway?

Kaito pulled himself up and headed into the building. Now…which apartment should he be looking for? The blinking dot was more to his right now. So...up? He climbed the stairs, following the dot as best he could.

It led him to the top floor, somewhere on the eastern side of the building. What he didn't know was which apartment Conan was in. So…how was he supposed to find out? Well, by breaking in, of course.

Kaito grinned and approached the first door. The lock was standard and took him only a few seconds. Once inside, he glanced around cautiously. Fortunately for him, no one appeared to be home. Unfortunately, Conan wasn't there either.

Up next, he moved to the neighboring room. _This_ one had a different lock than the other, more advanced, but still easy pickings for the young thief. Inside, he could hear loud snoring. The owner was home, apparently and , judging from the beer cans littering the floor, quite drunk.

Kid looked around cautiously, in case there was someone else in the house, but he ran into no one. Inspecting each room revealed nothing until he heard a bump from the kitchen. The drunk didn't seem to notice, still far from the world of the living, but Kaito could swear the bump came from the _refrigerator_. Kaito quickly investigated and threw the door open to find the fridge empty except for the tightly bound and gagged Conan.

"Tantei-kun!" He yelped, pulling the shivering bundle to him. "Tantei-kun, can you hear me?" He breathed in the child's ear. The boy shivered in response, but his eyes squinted open, a glazed look hiding their usual alertness.

"K-Kid…what?" He whispered, weakly.

"Just try to stay warm, okay?" Kaito pulled him closer, lending him his heat. He pulled out his cell phone, dialing 110 and changing his voice to a random concerned citizen. "Ah, Officer-san? I heard some weird noises coming from this apartment." He relayed the address and waited for the police to arrive. As soon as the knock started, he pressed a kiss to Conan's chilled forehead before vanishing just as the door burst open. The police swarmed into the room, immediately going to Conan and sending hi to the hospital.

--

Blue eyes slowly blinked open, wincing at the bright lights around him. Where was he? What had happened?

"Conan-kun?" A concerned female's voice asked. "Are you awake?"

Conan ignored her, trying to think. Yes, that's right, he'd ended up falling asleep at the Kudo mansion and…and what? He'd felt something pull him from behind and the strong smell of a chemical he recognized, somewhere in the back of his mind. Then…cold. That was it. There was nothing beyond the freezing darkness. He'd thought he was dying.

"Conan-kun?"

But apparently not. He could hear Ran's voice calling him, and his body seemed less cold than before. Good. He _hated_ the cold.

"R-Ran-neechan?" He rasped. His throat seared and his eyes watered. Ran quickly fetched him a glass of water and called for the doctor. A man in a white coat entered and took his pulse, doing various other tests, but Conan paid little attention. He felt like he was missing something…something that had happened _before_ he woke up here. But what? A deep blue, almost purple, eye flashed in his mind and he jerked.

"Conan-kun!?" Ran panicked.

"I-I'm fine Ran-neechan. I just…its cold." He said randomly, not realizing the room's other occupants had taken it as his reason.

"You've lost a great deal of body heat. You've been warmed, but I suspect your skin will be sensitive to temperature changes for a while." The doctor said.

"Really?" Conan blinked. Well, wouldn't that be fun. "Um…w-what happened, exactly?"

"We don't know. The police got an anonymous tip and found you at an apartment, lying next to the fridge. Apparently, the guy snatched you and demanded ransom from the Kudo's, but…well, Takagi-keiji said he must've gotten drunk and forgotten you were there. Oh, Conan-kun!" Ran hugged him tight, tears pouring down her cheeks.

"Um…who found me?"

"Oh, the police did."

"The police? But…" _A flash of purple, a soft pressure on his forehead, a soft whispering voice. 'Tantei-kun.'_ Conan's eyes flew open. "Never mind," He muttered.

_Kid_ had found him, he was sure of it. But…why was he looking? How could he have known Conan had been kidnapped?

--

Hours later, when Conan lay in the darkness of the empty room, a while shape watched him carefully. Conan let a deep sigh, his eyes closed.

"You can come in, you know. I highly doubt that window lock has foiled your thievery skills." He said aloud.

The white form had the window open in seconds and crawled into the room. "How're you feeling?" He asked softly.

"Fine." Conan grunted. "C'mere, dammit."

Kid blinked, but walked to the edge of the bed, confused. When he got there, Conan grabbed his tie and yanked him down, smashing their lips together. Kid "mmph?" –ed in surprise, but planted his hands on either side of the miniature detective to balance. He slid his tongue along Conan's plump lips, flicking into his mouth when they parted and swallowing a moan from the small boy.

When they parted, Conan's grip on Kid's tie held him close, his labored breathing coming out in pants, ghosting over Kaito's face.

"What was that for?" Kaito whispered.

"You took me out of that freezer, right? How'd you know I was missing, anyway?"

"Oh. Hakuba told me. I think he heard it from Hattori, who heard it from Mouri-chan."

"Ah." Conan's fingers traced Kid's face, sliding slowly over his lips and up to his right eye. They circled the cool glass of the monocle before removing it from his face. "Are your eyes really that color or are you wearing contacts?" He asked off-hand.

"They're real. Contacts are a pain with the monocle on."

"Oh. Um, Kid? Is this…wrong?" At Kaito's raised eyebrow, he elaborated. "I know who you are, I know your name, your face…Doesn't it worry you that I could go to the police with it?"

Kid shrugged, shifting his body to sit on the bed next to Conan rather than awkwardly on top of him. His face was still close, however, Conan's fingers still firmly curled around his tie. "You haven't yet." He pointed out.

"I haven't known very long. At least, not very long that I've been coherent."

"Yeah, well…" Kaito released a slow breath. "I was kinda hoping for the best. And when you do…well, I've got places I can go into hiding from. Won't be able to finish high school with Aoko, but I could always graduate online."

"But…why don't you just blackmail me? _You_ know who _I_ am."

Kid looked affronted. "Tantei-kun, do you really think so little of me?"

"I don't know _what_ to think. You're a criminal, you're _supposed_ to be the bad guy, but…"

"I'm a mystery to you." Kid filled in. "A thief who returns what he steals, a criminal with a non-violence policy…it worries you because you don't understand it."

"Does _anyone_ understand it? Do _you_ even? I mean…you have a reason for doing this, obviously, but…"

Kaito sighed. "_Yes_, I'm a criminal, Tantei-kun. But…well, I can't say what I'm doing is right, but I wouldn't call it wrong either. I mean…is it still bad if you do something wrong for the right reason?"

"I…I don't know. I'm a detective, I pursue justice and abhor crimes, so part of me wants to say yes, but…" He sighed, the rest coming out in a low murmur. "I don't want to say that you're wrong, either." His cheeks practically glowed with that admission.

Kid grinned. "Thank you." He pressed a kiss to Conan's forehead. "You know…" He began, eyeing the IV cord sticking in the boy's wrist. "They say painkillers are supposed to make a person submissive, right? I wonder if that's true."

Kaito smirked at Conan's confused look before pressing closer. He gave Conan a tonsil-cleansing, laughing at the dazed expression on his face when he pulled back.

"I think it is," He whispered, kissing the subdued detective again. Conan moaned, hands releasing the red tie to slither into messy hair, knocking the top hat off in the process. The IV tugged at his wrist and he growled. Kaito chuckled, tongue entwining with Conan's as his hand slid up the boy's arms lightly, giving him goose bumps. Finally, he caught Conan's forearms and dragged them up, tangling them in the IV cord. Shinichi growled at him, but that was quickly turned into a whimper when Kaito's mouth turned its attention to his neck.

"A-ah, Kaito…" Conan moaned as gloved hands roamed over his chest. The silky lips on his neck found his pulse point and bit down on it lightly. Conan gasped and whimpered, tugging against his bonds.

"Uh-uh, Tantei-kun." Kaito pulled back and murmured. "We wouldn't want you to pull out the IV, now would we?" Conan made a disparaging comment, sounding very much like he wanted to, but was silenced when Kid placed a hand over his mouth. Conan responded by tilting his head and biting the top of a gloved finger and tugged its covering off. Kaito positively beamed, his now free hand skimming over Conan's bare leg. He jerked in surprise, mewling.

Kaito's fingers fluttered over his thigh, caressing the soft skin. His other hand cupped Conan's neck, bringing their mouths together again.

Hand sliding up his leg, under the hospital gown, making the boy arch. "Aaah, Kai…" His hips jerked with a gasp when a hand fondled him.

Kaito's tongue flicked out again, caressing his lips, teeth, tongue. He easily swallowed the seductive sounds Conan was making.

After a good long moment of tongue thrashing, Kaito slid down and jerked the hospital gown up. Conan shivered when warm hands slid down his stomach and legs, one gloved and bare, the difference in texture making an interesting contrast. Kaito rubbed his legs gently, warming them. He massaged the feet, pressing kisses to the inside of his ankles, slowly moving up the inside of his left leg. When he reached the back of Conan's knee, he nipped lightly, chuckling when Conan jumped.

Kaito switched to the other leg, traveling up to the knee with his lips and nipping the sensitive skin.

He teased the boy for a while, caressing his thighs, but never toughing where he begged to be touched. Finally, Kaito wrapped his mouth around Conan's throbbing length. The boy writhed under him, whimpering and mewling desperately, jerking at the bonds that kept his hands tight.

Conan whimpered as a tongue traveled up and down his cock, flicking over the tip whilst the warm cavern worked hard to suck him dry.

"Ah…ah, gods…K-Kaito!" He ducked his head to the side and bit his pillow to keep from screaming as he came. Kaito gagged slightly, but swallowed most everything, rising up and pressing his lips to Conan's, making him taste himself.

Conan sighed wearily when he pulled back, leaving Kaito to clean him up and free his hands. A few quick runs to the bathroom and Conan was back to wearing his clean white hospital gown, although it was rather rumpled.

Kaito, on the other hand, jumped right back to his pristine condition, fetching his hat from the floor next to Conan's bed.

Kid took a seat on his bed, running his fingers soothingly through the child's hair. Conan sighed, a soft smile playing at his lips.

"The nurse from the night shift will stop by here in about half an hour. Will you be okay?"

Conan nodded. "Sure," He said sleepily, "but…'wanna talk to you."

A smile stretched over his lips. "Sure. What's up?"

"Why? Why do you keep helping me? I…I _could_ turn you in, but you don't push me away. It doesn't make sense."

"Does it have to? I _am_ a mysterious enigma, after all." Kid pointed out.

"And I'm a detective. I like things to be logical and orderly."

"Funny, and here I was thinking how alike we are." Conan jerked and looked at him in surprise. "Oh, I'm not talking about appearance, though that is eerily similar. No, I mean, the way we act, the values we have, the way we go about doing things. Obviously its different, seeing as we're on different sides of the low, but…well, whatever. I'm prolly just imagining things."

Conan shook his head. "No, you're right. It's just…surprising, I guess."

They sat in silence for a long while until Conan finally spoke.

"Kaito, are we dating?" He whispered hesitantly. His face was hidden in shadow, but Kaito could see traces of uncertainty in his beautiful blue eyes.

"I don't know." He shrugged. "I've never done anything like this before, Tantei-kun. I…I don't know _what_ to do. But…" He trailed off in a mumble.

"What?"

Kid's face turned red. "I think I'd like to." He murmured.

Conan's face stretched into a grin. "I–I think I might, too." He said quietly. Kaito's smile was radiant. He opened his mouth to speak, but the door clicked open at that moment and vanished.

"Everything okay in here, Conan-kun?" A sweet female voice asked.

Conan smiled at the nurse. "I'm fine, Nee-san."

He gazed into the now empty room and sighed contentedly, rolling the distinctive monocle in his hand. He and Kid were…odd, to say the least, but…well, he thought he could learn to live with it. Worth a try, after all.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, Ran walked in the hospital room to find Conan sleeping peacefully, lying on his side. The wrist with the IV in it sat limp over his hip and the other hand was curled tightly around something, tucked under his face.

She smiled at the sight and smoothed the sheets down before turning and gesturing her companion inside. "He's finally sleeping. The nurse said that he stayed up well into the night last night, but…well, I'm glad he's finally getting the rest he needs." She said softly.

"Yes," Her companion said with a smooth voice, "that is good. Tell me, Mouri-chan, what exactly happened with Edogawa-kun? I've seen the statement you gave to the police, but something still doesn't fit."

"What do you mean, Hakuba-san?" Ran asked, head tilted to the side.

"Well, how did you come to the assumption that he was kidnapped? It seems like a bit of a leap…"

"Conan-kun is always very good about letting us know where he was. The night before he went missing, we went to dinner with Otou-san, to meet with a client. After the case, Conan told me he was staying with Agasa-hakase for the evening and left. I didn't see him off because Otou-san was pretty drunk and could barely walk straight so I had to take him home.

"Conan stays with Agasa a lot. They are relatives, after all, so…well, anyway, he generally comes home early in the mornings unless he goes straight to school. When I got home from school, he wasn't home yet. Its not unusual, he stays with the Shonen Tantei out doing things often enough, but he always calls and tells me first. So, I tried calling his cell phone and, when I got no response, called Agasa. He told me that Conan hadn't come to his house at all yesterday and that Ai-chan said he hadn't been at school. They'd assumed he was home with a cold, but when I told them he wasn't, they started looking for him."

She took a deep breath. "I called Hattori-kun because he always gets along well with Conan-kun and the police investigation wasn't going anywhere. 'A person has to be unaccounted for for at least 24 hours before they can be qualified as missing' or some such. Anyway, Hattori-kun came and found evidence that he'd been kidnapped. Apparently, Conan-kun had gone over to Shinichi's house for something and was attacked there. Takagi-keiji said that, since the kidnapper found Conan-kun there, he assumed they'd pay the ransom for him and didn't ask Conan-kun for his family information. You should know the rest, it was in the official report. The police got an anonymous call from a concerned citizen and found Conan-kun by acting on their tip."

"That's the thing." Hakuba said. "The concerned citizen still hasn't been place."

"So?" Ran asked. "Otou-san once told me that a lot of people don't leave their names because they don't want to get involved in an investigation."

"That's understandable, but what about the freezer? The doctors said Edogawa-kun had been kept in a cold compartment, presumably a freezer, for a long amount of time. But when the police got there, he was laying on the kitchen floor, curled into a ball for warmth. What's more, he was still bound and gagged so it's not like he worked his own way out of the freezer."

"I – " Ran trailed off, brow knitting in confusion. "But…does it matter? Whatever happened, Conan-kun is safe now and the kidnapper has been arrested. If someone took him out of the freezer, then they helped him so they probably aren't connected to the kidnapper, right?"

Hakuba was quiet for a moment. "Well, no, but…"

"Then what's the big deal? As far as I'm concerned, whoever it was did a good deed helping Conan-kun and that's enough."

The British detective deflated. It was obvious he wasn't going to get anywhere with the Mouri girl. "Do you know where Hattori-kun is?" He asked at last.

"Yes, he's in the cafeteria getting food. But you know, he'll say the same thing I did."

"We'll see." Hakuba said and left the room.

Ran sighed deeply and dropped into the chair by Conan's bedside. "I hate to say it, Conan-kun, but…he's right. I wonder if you'd tell me what happened? Or do you even know?" She put her face in her hands. "I hope Hattori-kun can deal with Hakuba-san."

--

Unfortunately, Hattori didn't seem very inclined to dealing with the Brit. "Look, Hakuba, I don't care what you're problem is, just shove off, would ya?" He growled. "The Squirt is safe and if there are any problems, the police can take care of them. You just stay out of it and leave Ku-nan alone, got it?"

Hakuba groaned. "Look, Hattori, I don't particularly like dealing with you either, but something is obviously going on here! It's quite possible that that boy is involved with Kaitou Kid somehow!"

"Where's yer proof, huh? Sounds to me like yer just grasping at straws. You don't know the guy so don't just baselessly go accusing him! Besides, its just a stupid thief, anyway. Sure, he's annoying, but in the long run, it's not like we're dealin' with a murderer. Course, I doubt you'd be able to handle it if we were. Looks like you spend to much time chasing the small fry to know what it's like in the warzone." Well, warzone was a bit of an exaggeration, but _Hakuba_ ne'er had bullets flying his way!

Hakuba glared. How dare this reckless fool underestimate him. Kid was no less of a criminal! And he could easily deal with a murderer, he just chose to help the Kid taskforce.

"Um…Heiji? Hakuba-san?" A girl with a green ribbon tied in her dark hair asked, popping in between them. "Heiji, if you're picking a fight _again_ – " She threatened him, glaring.

"I ain't doing nothing!" Heiji yelled, indignant. "It's this ass who's making stupid assumptions! Where the hell do you pull Kid into this equation, anyway!? One minute yer inquirin' about what happened to the kid, then you assume it has somethin' to do with the thief!?" Hattori barked, pulling his childhood friend to the side.

"You can't deny that it's odd that Edogawa-kun was sitting outside the freezer with no signs of the room having been broken into before the police arrived. _Someone _had to have pulled him out. Who else was looking!?"

"What makes you think Kid was?" Hattori's growl was feral.

'Because I was the one that told Kuroba-kun that Edogawa-kun was missing.' Hakuba screamed in his head. But he could hardly tell Heiji that. He had no proof that Kuroba and Kid were the same people even though he _knew_ they were!

"Um, Heiji, people are staring…" Kazuha said, shifting nervously under the crowd's scrutiny.

"Stay away from K-Conan-kun, Hakuba." Hattori ground out before spinning on his heel and dragging Kazuha away with him.

--

The western detective marched into Conan's room, slamming the door behind him. Ran rose, startled, and began to scold him but stopped short at the furious look on his face. "Hattori-kun?" She looked worried.

"Hey, Neechan, can you and Kazuha wait outside for a bit? I wan' a moment alone with the kid, 'kay?" He asked, a weak smile forced onto his face. Kazuha looked worriedly between Heiji and the form on the bed, but nodded slowly and pulled Ran out of the room. "Get up, Kudo." Hattori growled. "I know yer awake."

"Who wouldn't be? I imagine your argument was heard by the majority of the hospital." He spat, glaring at the teen. "What the hell's your problem? Exactly _what_ we're you arguing about that involved me?"

"That stiff-assed bastard is baselessly accusing you of stuff." He muttered, sinking into a chair. "But seriously, Kudo, what happened? Some of what he said isn't entirely baseless. By all rights, you _should_ have been in that freezer or whatever when the police found you. And I know that has to have occurred to you by now, Kudo."

Shinichi heaved a sigh, "Okay, so there's a third party involved. Do you have any leads on who it is?" He said evenly. No reason to show his discomfort.

"No, other than the fact that it had to be someone who knew you were missing, had the means to find you, and was able to get into the apartment without leaving any traces." He eyed Kudo critically. "Hakuba thinks its Kid." He said after a while.

"…And you two were yelling all over the hospital about the possibility of me being connected to Kid!? Oh gee, thanks _loads_, Hattori. That'll do wonders for my reputation." He glared. "The police already have every reason not to listen to me because I'm a kid. Now they'll start wondering if I'm illegal, too." Conan groaned. Okay, so he sorta was, for multiple reasons, but they didn't have to go and let the world _know_ it!

Footsteps echoed down the hallway and the door opened to reveal Ran, Kazuha, and Saguru. "Hakuba," Heiji's temper flared. Ran and Kazuha reprimanded him with a glare, walking in and smiling at the patient.

"Ohayo, Ran-neechan." Conan grinned, bringing his child act back up. Hattori winced. It was creepy when he did that all of a sudden.

"Ohayo, Conan-kun. How are you feeling? Hattori-kun didn't wake you up, did he?"

"Iie," Conan shook his head. "I was already sort of awake. Anyway, I'm fine." He smiled. "It's kinda cold in here, but I'm okay." Ran immediately moved to turn up the heat and Hakuba approached the boy.

"Conan-kun," He began, "I take it the police have already questioned you?"

"Yeah, yesterday afternoon. Why, something wrong?" He asked innocently.

"I believe Hattori may have already filled you in on that aspect." Heiji twitched. "Can you remember anything from when you were at the apartment?"

"I remember it was cold. I thought I was gonna die. And I remember the smell of booze and…ham? Yeah, I think it was ham. The guy must've had it there before he put me in."

"Ham?" Hakuba raised an eyebrow. "In the freezer?"

"Freezer?" Conan blinked. "I thought I was in the refrigerator. I guess not…"

"No, you may have been. We just assumed, because of the body heat you lost, that you had been in the freezer. Do you remember anything else?"

"Um…my arms were really stiff afterwards. I supposed they were bound tightly.But the police alreay said that, anyway." His arms twitched as he spoke and Hakuba noticed something.

"Conan-kun, what's in your hand?" He asked. The others in the room turned to look at him, surprised.

"What?" Conan blinked. He glanced down at his hand and his eyes widened fractionally. "It's nothing." He said softly.

"Conan-kun?" Ran frowned. Shinichi shifted uneasily. Hattori narrowed his eyes at his friend. In fact, the only one not suspicious of Conan right now was Kazuha. Kazuha who, strangely, had cerulean eyes, Conan noted, staring at her. Her lips twisted into a smile he knew very well and she snapped.

The room's occupants jumped at the sound, looking around for the source and Conan found himself holding something completely different. He blinked again. How had Kid managed to do that from across the room?

Still, he took advantage of it, and adopted a guilty expression on his face, uncurling his fingers to reveal a small pocket knife lying on his palm. "I didn't want someone sneaking up on me where I couldn't do anything." He whispered, head bowed. "I stole it from one of the doctors." He amended. Hopefully this looked realistic. He may not have inherited his mother's acting genes, but he'd learned quite a bit as Conan.

"Conan-kun!" Ran gasped. She surged forward and hugged him. "Don't worry, Conan-kun, no one will attack you here." She said comfortingly.

Hakuba frowned. "I see. Well, you should probably return the knife soon. The doctor may need it." He said. He looked unsatisfied about something. "Well, since Edogawa-kun can't seem to remember anything else, I'll be on my way. Excuse me." He bowed out.

Ran loosened her hold around Conan. "Why don't you give me the pocket knife, Conan-kun. Kazuha-chan and I will go return it, okay? But make sure you apologize to the doctor later!"

Heiji watched Conan suspiciously as the girls left. Something wasn't right here. Kudo wasn't some kid who would take a scare after being snatched. He dealt with this sort of thing all the time! Besides, if there were anything he should feel unsafe over, it'd be the murders that follow him around, not a simple kidnapping. What was going on? "Kudo…" Hattori began. What could he say? "Are you really that worked up over getting kidnapped?"

Conan's eyes were downcast. "Look, Hattori," He said, "I thought I was gonna die, okay? Hell, I thought I was already dead until I heard Ran's voice and woke up here. So yeah, you could say I'm a little worked up. Sure, I deal with murders and kidnappings all the time, but…" He shivered. "Geez, I think I've developed a psychological aversion to the cold." Hattori nodded, suspicions set aside and moved to turn up the heat again.

Outside the door, the girl let out a slow breath. She'd told Mouri-chan that she'd go back and make sure Heiji didn't do anything to Conan-kun. Now was her opportune time to get away, but…

He'd placed the knife in Conan's hands expecting him to come up with an excuse like he had. Except…well, Tantei-kun had never been the most talented actor. His 'confession' was just a tad too real for Kid's tastes. Sighing, he took his leave.

--

Ran and Heiji were shooed out off his room by an irritated nurse as soon as visiting hours were through. They'd protested, but the nurse had been adamant that Conan needed his rest.

Conan was very thankful to the nurse, but, despite that, he couldn't fall asleep. Something worried him. He wanted to see Kid. He knew it was ridiculous. After all, he'd just seen Kid earlier, though he was in disguise. Still…somehow he felt he couldn't fall asleep until he knew Kid was…Kid was what? What did he expect Kid to do? He couldn't break in, not again, not with Hakuba suspecting them like that. But…

He sighed. He wished he had the comforting weight of Kid's monocle in his hands to grasp. Somehow, just holding onto that made it seem less…less like a dream. He was almost scared that he'd go to sleep and wake up inside the cold again.

Shinichi shifted around, fluffing up his pillow. He slid his hand beneath it and hit something hard. The detective drew it back, surprised. The glass in the monocle glinted in the moonlight. But…why? Hadn't Kid taken it? Didn't he _need_ it?

"I knew it." A voice said. Eyes wide, Conan jerked around and gaped. Hakuba Saguru stood in the doorway, eyes pinned to Kid's trinket. "Kid is involved with this. How?" Hakuba asked. No, he wasn't asking, he was demanding.

"I – " Conan swallowed. What was he supposed to say? What could he say to save both his and Kid's reputation?

Hakuba's eyes narrowed. "No, it isn't just Kid involved. Kid had no way of knowing you were in trouble. _Kuroba-kun_ found you, didn't he?"

Conan stiffened, his jaw snapping closed. "Y-you…what are you saying?" He asked, panicked. "Kuroba? How – ?"

"Don't lie, Edogawa-kun. I've suspected Kuroba-kun for quite a while now. There's no other way. After all, I was the one that told him you were missing." Hakuba leaned forward and plucked the monocle out of Conan's slack hand.

"Hey!" Conan tried to snatch it, but his reaction was off. He glared at Hakuba. "Give it back." He demanded.

"It's evidence, Edogawa-kun. The police can use it to catch Kid."

"Good for them. Give. It. Back." His glare sharpened. Hakuba stared at him, hand closing over the precious evidence. Conan lunged forward, ripping the IV out of his wrist and grabbed at Hakuba's. "Give it to me!" He growled. "Dammit, you – !"

Suddenly, something was wrapping around his waist, pulling him away from Hakuba. The blonde was pushed back away from him and they both turned to stare at the moonlit thief standing in their midst. "Really, you two, fighting over something like this…" He took the monocle from Hakuba's grasp and brought it up to his face, presumably placing it over his eye. "I think you've both had enough for today. Good night." He dropped a small capsule that let out a pink gas when it broke open. Hakuba dropped heavily to the floor and Kaito carried the drowsy detective of the east back to his bed.

Conan blinked up at him. The gas had mainly hit Hakuba so he only got the residual effects, but it was still enough to make him weary. His hand drifted up the Kid's face, blood running down his wrist. "Sorry." He mumbled quietly, fingers splaying over the glass. "And thanks." He murmured.

Kid smiled softly, placing him on the bed and catching the raised arm in his grasp. He turned his head to the side and lapped the blood off his skin, sucking at the cut. Pulling back, he ripped a handkerchief and tied it around Conan's arm securely over the cut. "Sleep, Tantei-kun," He whispered, kissing the boys forehead.

Before he left, he buzzed the nurse's station and let them deal with the sleeping Hakuba. He'd deal with the blonde tomorrow when he woke.

--

Hakuba groaned? What happened? Last he remembered, he was arguing with Edogawa-kun over the evidence, but then… He licked his lips and frowned. Ugh, _something _had left a terrible aftertaste. Actually, it was kind of familiar, wasn't it? It tasted a lot like the sleeping gas Kid used.

Hakuba sighed. Okay, so Kid had put him to sleep. That was nothing new. Kid was _always_ finding ways to irritate him. But, dammit, this time he was so close! If Edogawa-kun would've just cooperated, he'd've been able to prove that Kuroba was Kid!

Actually, it was odd that Conan hadn't helped him. In the past, the boy had been just as determined as he to catch the bandit. What had changed? And how was Kuroba connected to it? More than that…did Edogawa know who Kid was? Was he _protecting_ Kid?

Shoving his thoughts aside, he tried to grasp his bearings. It was dark, where ever he was. Was it night out? Where was a window so that he could see?

Suddenly, a bright light flicked on, causing him to wince. He squinted his eyes to see a doctor enter the room, wearing those blue surgical robes. Was he still at the hospital?

"Hakuba Saguru, son of Hakuba Kenta. British decent, detective. And properly clueless at the moment it appears." The doctor grinned. Not that he could see it under the mask, but he just knew the man was grinning.

"Who are you? What's going on?" Hakuba demanded.

"Aw, you don't recognize me? I'm hurt!" Kaitou Kid smirked. "Currently, you're in a temporary hospital room. Seems you passed out without provocation so the doctors kept you here to check up on you. It'd be terrible if these fainting spells interfered with your work, after all."

"Kid!" Saguru growled.

"Ah, and now we have a classic case of misdirected anger. Tsk tsk, Tantei-san. I really thought you were better than this."

"I'll show you better, you – "

"Language, language, Tantei-san. You know, for being such a proper English gentleman, you have quite a vocabulary of expletives once something gets you going." Kid grinned. "In any case, it appears you're getting _ideas_. Now tell me, what exactly do you believe is going on?"

"You – you're connected with Edogawa somehow! He even had your monocle! And…you were the one who pulled him out of the fridge or freezer or whatever, weren't you? But how did you know the kid was in trouble? I _told_ Kuroba that Conan was missing."

"And that's relevant how? Really Tantei-san, you should never underestimate a thief's resources." He sniffed. "Besides, I'm afraid I only discovered Tantei-kun's hospitalization yesterday when it was playing on the news. He was listed as unstable." Kid frowned. Or Hakuba presumed he did, anyway. He couldn't see anything through the mask. "If the boy came into possession of my monocle than I suppose he must be talented enough to possibly pick my pocket. I wonder if he has my pocket knife, then? It went missing after the last heist…"

"Dammit, Kid! You – I _know_ that there's something going on between you and Edogawa Conan!"

"My, Hakuba, are you accusing me of pedophilia? What a vulgar mind you have." Kid dismissed easily. Actually he seemed to be avoiding the topic of the boy completely. "Now, after a minor check up, you should be discharged. Perhaps the taskforce will even let you participate at my heist tonight."

"Tonight!?" Hakuba yelped. Kid just waved and vanished through the door. "Wait, Kid!"

--

Conan sighed. He desperately wished he was out of the hospital. As it was, there was no way he'd be able to attend the Kid heist. Then again, that may have been for the best. Between Hakuba's accusations and the growing suspicion of others, a meeting between them probably wouldn't be the best idea.

Still…he wanted to see Kid again. Jeez, he sounded like a lovesick school girl, but dammit! It was all Kid's fault!

The door clicked open and Ran's head poked in. "Conan-kun? Your parents have come to see you."

"Huh?" Shinichi responded intelligently. A plump woman wearing thick glasses ducked into the room, followed by a man wearing a dark overcoat over an aged face. "Mom?" He asked hesitantly.

The woman smiled, at him, waiting until Ran had closed the door firmly before launching at him and pulling him into a tight hug. "Oh, Shin-chan, I was so worried! Do you have any idea what it's like, finding out your baby is in the hospital over the _internet_. Why, if it weren't for Yusaku's connections, we wouldn't even know! You should have called us!"

The elderly man placed an arm around the woman, physically drawing her away from the slightly-claustrophobic boy. "Yukiko, let him breathe."

Conan sighed. "Since when is my 'dad' old enough to be my grandfather. Conan's _six_, remember?"

"Improvising. Technically, Conan doesn't have an official father, so we tampered with the idea. People generally don't look twice at an old man hobbling along." Yusaku shrugged.

"Anyway, are you alright, sweetie? And what's this I hear about Kid?"

"I don't know, what _do _you hear about Kid?" Conan asked, eyes narrowing. If Hakuba had said something…

"Not much, but some of the nurses were whispering about some connection you held to him." Yukiko frowned.

Lovely. And they would, too. With the argument between Hakuba and Hattori yesterday, it was no wonder people had come to their own conclusions. And, like any major secret, everyone knows about it.

"A detective after Kid, Hakuba Saguru, came up with the idea. He hasn't got any official evidence, but now that the idea's out there…" Ugh. That meant he probably wouldn't get to see Kid for a while. Dammit.

Yusaku hummed thoughtfully. "Well, it does make some amount of sense, depending on exactly how he's related. Kid has always been protective of his opponents, and you certainly qualify as one. Hiroshi once mentioned that Kid knew–?" At Conan's nodded, he continued. "The idea of a teenager on his mental level in the body of a child is probably fascinating to him. It's no small wonder that he'd keep an eye on you."

Conan gulped quietly. "So…you think he pulled me from the…where-ever-the-hell-I-was?"

"Well, without even knowing the circumstances, I wouldn't presume to think so, but it wouldn't be a leap in logic. With Kid's resources, finding and rescuing you wouldn't be difficult and, if he'd been keeping tabs on you, he'd know where to find you. Or at least, have a good idea. After that, all it would take is a little old-fashioned legwork. But, again, I don't know the details."

Shinichi agreed. "But, would any of that be relevant if you weren't looking for it? If no one had suggested Kid in the first place and led your mind to that line of questioning, who'd have reason to suspect?"

"What, you think there's more behind this?" Yusaku blinked. "While that's true, I suppose, it does make a certain amount of sense. And since someone _did_ bring the subject up, then it has some relevance, no?" Yusaku sighed. "I know what you'd like to think, Shinichi, but this kidnapper obviously wasn't related to the people you're looking for. They'd never be so careless."

Shinichi bobbed his head absently, thinking. He knew _they_ weren't involved. Actually, the thought had never occurred to him. Although..._They_ weren't involved with the kidnapper, no, but what about other aspects?

Was he being paranoid? _They_ were after both himself and Kid. Bringing them together in the light like this…well, with some subtle suggestions, it would be simple. And from what he'd heard, Hakuba was obsessed with Kid, so he'd be the person to plant the thoughts into.

On the other hand, it could be simply be an innocent line of investigation based on clues given. They were detectives, after all. Hakuba knew Kaito and was manipulative enough to get what he wanted…

Yeah, he was being paranoid. Of course he was. The Org. couldn't be involved in _everything_, after all, right? …right?

Conan frowned deeply. It would probably be a very good idea if he didn't see Kid for a while now. He cursed internally. Were all his relationships doomed to torture at the hands of the Black Organization?

…He wondered if he could get a message to Kid. He was smart enough to figure out the clues, of course, and he knew Hakuba had been nosing around, but…well, Conan would feel safer if he knew he couldn't be used to implicate Kaito. That was unacceptable. He was a detective, yes, but if he were ever to catch Kid, it would be properly at a heist. Well, catch in the legal sense, anyway. With any luck, he'd already caught Kid in other senses.

--

Kaito was not happy. Kaito was not happy _at all_.

He was used to Hakuba. He was used to Hakuba's determination. He was used to Hakuba's accusations and he was used to denying him every time. They never really bothered him much. Hakuba couldn't do anything, not without proof that he didn't have.

What he was _not_ used to were the new brand of accusing stares. Stares that might be warranted. And worse…accusations that he might not be able to brush off so easily. Dammit, he _knew_ running off and panicking had been a bad idea. But it was for the better in the end. If he'd gone through the usual routes, Tantei-kun may not have made it. That scared Kaito more than anything else. Hell, it scared him more than Aoko and fish combined! Even Aoko aware of his secret with a fish wasn't as frightening as the thought that Tantei-kun could've died. And all because of a stupid drunk! It was a good thing Kid hadn't had a chance to lay his hands on the culprit…his non-violence policy might've even been bent for the occasion. Of course, it would upset Tantei-kun – and that was most of what had stopped him from disguising as one of the police and going after that ass – but it wasn't like he'd _kill_ the guy, and Tantei-kun of everyone understood the concept of revenge. He didn't endorse it, but he understood. After all, he had his own little problem with criminals – no pun intended.

Putting aside thoughts of revenge for the moment, Hakuba's stare was just plain _annoying_. And he couldn't do anything about it! He settled for looking determinedly in the other direction and think of just what he could do to the blonde at the heist.

He glanced to the left where his childhood friend was chatting happily with her female counterparts. As much as he dearly loved his friends, Aoko's efforts of pulling everyone together as classmates and maybe more could be downright annoying. Especially when he had wanted to do a final casing of the museum before tonight. He could always slip away, but that would be like adding fuel to the fire. Hakuba _definitely_ would notice an absence, even if Kaito could get away without anyone seeing.

Alright, that settled it. He was going to do something _big_ to dear old Haku-chan during the heist. Something he was sure the detective would remember for a _long_ time to come. All he had to do was think up of exactly what that was…

--

Nakamori was having a lousy day. Kid had left the note only a day before the actual heist! That wasn't fair! To make it worse, the gem was located in a private collection and the owner wasn't cooperating. He thought that _he_ could stop Kid. Him, some lousy aristocrat! If anyone was going to catch Kid, it would be Nakamori! And for that to happen, Kid needed to give him time to prepare! It was only fair, after all.

"Look," Ginzo growled, "if you want to protect the gem, you need to let us work!"

"_You_ look. You have continuously failed to catch your little thief. I don't intend to let you botch up with my beautiful treasure. _I_ will catch the Kid myself and _you_ can just get out!" The owner yelled.

Standing to the side of the room, supposedly checking the lighting unit, a uniform-clad thief grinned. This was going to be so easy.

The door banged open and a group of teenagers walked in. One of the rookies approached them in greeting. "Nakamori-chan, your father is busy with the owner. Can I help you?" He smiled. He was young, just out of college, and he wondered if he might be able to score a good one with the inspector's daughter. She wasn't that young and if she could get him a promotion…

"So we see." A flat voice told him. The infamous blonde detective gave him an irritated stare.

"Um…so, can I help you?" He shivered. The Brit was scary.

"Sure." A brunette smiled widely at him. The rookie sweat dropped. How could a smile be so threatening? "Why don't you go tell the inspector that his daughter would like to talk to him.

"M-me? Talk to the inspector? _Now_!?" If someone interrupted Nakamori when he was ranting…they were screwed.

"Well, of course." The grin grew wider. "It's rude to keep a lady waiting, after all."

The group giggled as the rookie ran to his doom. "Geez, Kaito." Aoko laughed. "Be nicer to them."

Kaito shared a glance with Hakuba. '_Yeah, right_.' He thought. 'Even a stiff-assed Brit is better for you than some lowlife.'

"What do you want?" Nakamori barked at them, albeit in slightly lower terms so as not to affront his daughter. In matches between them, she usually won.

"We were hanging out near here, so we thought we'd see how it was going." Aoko smiled angelically. "Have you got everything to stop Kid?" Her father's answer was unprintable.

Laughing lightly at the family conversation, Kaito glanced around the room. Oh yeah, this was going to be so easy. Except… "Ne, Keibu, how many officers are you supposed to have in this room right now?"

"What? Uh, 27-28? Somewhere around there. Mainly we're trying to find somewhere we can operate from without that #&!#!! getting on our case." The response was followed with several more uncomplimentary names for the gem's owner.

Hakuba looked suspiciously at the magician. "Why?"

"Well, 'cuz an initial head count offers thirty at best. And that's not counting us."

Hakuba shrugged. "Kid wouldn't do something so obvious. Or rather, more obvious than that." The detective eyed him. "Some officers probably wandered in to report."

"Which is why they're staying in the shadows, watching us all very closely." Kaito said sarcastically. Hakuba jerked, but refrained from glancing around the room for suspects.

"Where?"

"In the corner behind us, next to the light controls. To your left positively glaring at us. Silly man. You'd think with all these fine examples around, he'd realize the emblem for Tokyo PD isn't supposed to be upside down. The other guy got the size wrong, too. Didn't stuff properly. It's real obvious his uniform isn't right for him." Kaito said airily, in a tone denoting that they were simply speaking of the weather. Hakuba stared.

"We can't arrest them for looking suspicious."

"Arrest them for police impersonation. Even if you have to let them go eventually, you can hold them long enough to figure out what they're up to."

"You…are a little too good with this." Hakuba sighed. He turned to the side and cut into the inspector's argument with his daughter. "Keibu, we have a situation…"

Discreetly looking towards the suspicious fellows again, Kaito grinned. It was always nice to do your civic duty. Bonus if it helped him pull off the heist without a hitch.

--

"Soooo," Kaito was beaming as he slid into the seat next to Hakuba. "Whatever happened with the suspicious people before the heist yesterday?"

Hakuba groaned. "After three hours of Nakamori-style interrogation, they finally confessed." He sipped at his Styrofoam cup of coffee. School came entirely too early in his opinion. "The two of them were employees of he gem's owner, fired a year ago on account of missing funds. They claim innocence for that, but apparently figured that, since they were being condemned, may as well do the crime they were getting in trouble for. Strangely, though, they had no interest in the gem."

Internally, Kaito laughed dryly. 'How 'bout cuz it's the worst made fake I've seen in ages. Didn't even have to pick it up to know. Hell, my own fakes are a helluva lot better than that one!' Externally, though, he shrugged good-naturedly and feigned confusion. "Weird. So, they had no connection to Kid?"

"Not that they admitted to. Why, do you think you know something?" Hakuba asked, suspicious gaze weighing down on him.

"Nope, not a thing. Just thought it was convenient for them, all those police being there because of Kid. Guess they planned well."

"Yes, so it appears." The suspicious gaze never left him for a moment the entire day. By the end of it, even Kaito's tolerance was stretched to the bone. He was getting twitchy under the constant watch and Hakuba was really starting to get on his nerves.

Finally, when the bell rang, he cut loose. Dropping a smoke bomb that filled the whole room with fluorescent purple gas, he vanished.

Hakuba waved his hand in front of his face, clearing the gas in front of him. He noticed the magician's absence ten minutes later when he could see the rest of the room without the neon additions to his vision. The words that came out of his mouth were not pleasant. Not only was Kuroba not here, but his escape route had the side effect of dyeing the blonde's a new vibrant indigo. Dammit.

--

Coming down from his run, Kaito panted lightly, glad he was in his civilian persona. That trick wouldn't have worked otherwise without staining his suit the same color as Saguru's hair. Kid prided himself on his pristine _white_ condition at heists.

Hmm…he wondered if he could risk going by the hospital. Hakuba had lost him now and he'd be in disguise…

'Yeah, I think I'll risk it.' He decided.

Five minutes later, a bouncy redhead was walking down the streets, wearing a bright green shirt that clashed terribly with her hair and said "Color Coordinating is Overrated" in bold letters. The pale orange skirt she was wearing wasn't helping the fashion statement, either. Humming and skipping to herself, the youth happily made her way towards the hospital.

"Hiya! What room is Edogawa Conan in?" She asked the front desk. The secretary stared at her for a great deal of time before shaking herself out of it and giving him (her) the room number.

"Please be careful." She called after him. "Any seizures you cause will be billed to your insurance." Kaito blinked. What, seizures? It was only a little rainbow mix.

He came to the door Conan resided behind with a bright smile on his face. She could hear voices from the other side and, when he knocked, Mouri-chan was the one who opened the door, thankfully without Hattori in the room with her.

"Hello." She grinned. "Hey, Conan, remember me?" The grin grew tenfold as Conan stared at him.

"Um, you know him?" Ran asked hesitantly.

"Yup. He was friends with my brother back in America. My family's here on vacation when we heard about Conan on the news and I just had to come! Oh yeah, I'm Katie Mason, by the way." She chirped, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Conan choked.

"U-um, yeah, I sorta remember. John's sister, right?" He asked hesitantly. John was a common American name, right?

"That's the one!" She giggled. The gaijin hopped over to Conan's beside, leaning down to brush a kiss over his forehead. "Miss me?" He asked quietly in Kid's voice.

Conan glared. "You. Are. In. Sane."

"Yup." Kid's shark grin looked scary on the apparently-color-blind girl's face. Pulling back, he asked, "So, what exactly is wrong with Conan? I think it said so on the news, but I only caught the tail end. It listed his name and what hospital he was in, but not his condition or why he was in here. Frankly, I didn't know that Japanese news listed hospital patients unless they were celebrities."

"Conan-kun's case was a little special. He was almost killed by a kidnapper." Ran said sadly. The foreigner looked aghast.

"T-that's terrible!" She took the opportunity to hug the small boy close. "Oh gods, Conan, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." Conan mumbled, blushing as he felt lips brush over his neck. Did Kid not realize Ran was _right there_!? And – Conan jerked as a pleasant shudder traveled through his body. Was it good or bad that Kid had found a sensitive area on his neck?

Kid's grin was slightly crazy when he drew back. Ran didn't seem to notice, though, so he supposed it wasn't a big deal.

"Well, I need to get going. 'Tou-chan is absolutely hopeless in the kitchen. Um, Katie-san, could you keep an eye on Conan-kun for a bit? Or do you need to get going?" Ran asked.

"Oh, I'd love to stay. I'll just call my brother, make sure they know where I am and stuff." Katie smiled amiably. She ducked out of the room for a minute or so – don't want the phone to affect the hospital's equipment, after all. Although, Conan reflected, going out in the hall wouldn't really change much – before returning. Ran left shortly after, giving Conan a short hug and a kiss across the forehead. Katie frowned.

Once Ran was gone, Kid leaned over his detective and kissed him thoroughly. Conan chuckled against his mouth. "Jealous much?" He asked when Kid pulled away.

"Hey, Kaitou are known for their possessiveness." Said "Katie," taking a seat next to Conan on the bed, intertwining their fingers and brushing his lips over _his_ Conan's forehead.

Conan sighed, leaning against Kid. He – or was it 'she' – was definitely more comfortable than the bed. "Are you safe being here?" He asked quietly. "Hakuba…"

Kaito chuckled. "Right now, I think Hakuba's going to be more worried about being seen in public."

"What'd you do to him?" Conan's reprimanding stare was ruined by the fact that he was smiling.

"Nothing much. Actually, I've done worse, but I didn't have much time to come up with this one."

"Oh?"

He sighed. "Hakuba's in my class, see. And he suspects me of being the Kaitou Kid – ME, of all people! – so he was staring at me all day. Reeeeeeeally annoying. So, now he has purple hair."

Conan choked. "_Purple_!? How the hell did you manage that? Wait, no, never mind, I don't wanna know."

Kaito grinned. "It's not _my_ fault blonde hair is so easy to dye!"

"Right."

Kaito's grin grew triumphant. "Ah, so you _can_ smile. You spend much too much time frowning."

"Shaddup." Conan pouted, the corners of his mouth twitching. He twisted and pressed his lips to Kid's neck. Good, the latex mask didn't go that far. He was glad.

So was Kid, from the appreciative noises he was making as Conan paid more attention to his throat. Small, suckling kisses covered the area Conan could reach without moving too much.

"Do you think Hakuba will do anything?" He asked between presses of skin and lips, his breath warm against the wet flesh.

Kaito shivered. "About his hair? Or about his suspicions?" He tilted his head back, giving Conan more access and wrapping his free arm around the boy. "I don't know. He can't do much about the hair – the dye's semi-permanent and should stick with him for a while, but…I highly doubt he'll ignore his suspicions. It's just not his style."

"Thought so." Conan tugged the green shirt over one of Kid's shoulders, moving down to the thief's collar bone. He swiped his tongue over the hollow there, giving the edge a soft bite, planting kisses along his skin, and sucking on the nub on his shoulder.

Kid groaned. His shirt's collar was probably being stretched terribly, but he didn't care. He'd likely never wear it again anyway, unless 'Katie' had need to return. "He'll – ah – he'll investigate first. He's made a blunder already, accusing without evidence to back him up. He won't do it again. But – " Another moan slipped past his lips, "it's not like I'll make it easy for him. Definitely not."

He could feel the mouth against his skin curve upward. "Good. Now, this has been bugging me since you got here…" He pulled back and poked 'Katie's' chest. "Why the hell do those look real?"

"A good disguise calls for a realistic look." Kid grinned. "It's actually a gel-padded bra that my mom and a few others helped me make. 'Course, they didn't exactly know _what_ it was they were helping me create, but… Anyway, since it's an actual bra, it does give off the natural look under a shirt like it's supposed to."

Conan blinked slowly. "Oh…kay, little too much information there."

"Never know when it might come in handy." Kaito shrugged.

"With my size, even if I dressed in drag, I wouldn't need to stuff."

"Aw, that's right. Kids don't have boobs. Shame."

Conan choked. "You – that – just…I'm going to pretend I never heard that."

"You do that." Kid grinned. "In the mean time…"

"Right. Hakuba. Um…"

"It would probably be best if we weren't seen in close proximity for a while. Hakuba's a sneaky bastard, though he really sucks at tailing. Doesn't seem to get that the idea is too be inconspicuous."

"So we shouldn't see each other for a while." Conan ignored the clenching feeling in his chest. It wasn't like that bothered him…right? "For how long, do you reckon?"

"A few days at the least. Probably more. I don't know. Hakuba's suspected me of a lot of things, but nothing he'd have a stab at proving before."

Conan nodded slowly. "Alright. Um, Kaito? Don't let him find anything. If he goes deep enough and finds Shinichi…"

"While it would look better, it would put him in loads of trouble he doesn't know how to handle." Kaito agreed. "I'll try." He pulled Conan back against him, breathing in his scent, memorizing it.

Shinichi snuggled against his chest, hand clenching in the soft fabric. The hand still entwined with Kid's squeezed firmly, feeling reassured with the equally firm return squeeze.

They'd have to part soon, but for now, Kid wasn't going anywhere.

--

**Jeez, this one took me a long time to get out. But hey, it's long! And sadly lacking in the romance department. I promise that'll get better soon, but for now, Kaito and Shinichi have to suffer.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, I kinda realized it's been about 4 months since I updated…I'm ashamed. So, I'm gonna try to give you a long chapter. No promises, but I'll try. Also – again, no promises – I'm gonna try to update fics more regularly. Try being the key word here.**

--

It had been three weeks without a single visit from Hakuba Saguru. Unfortunately, it had been a whole three weeks without a single visit from Kaitou Kid, as well. Even more unfortunately, the ones he kept getting visits from were his _parents_. He loved them dearly, really he did, but there was only so much he could take of them, especially when Kudo Yukiko took an almost sadistic pleasure in glomping him, seeing just how close to death she could bring him.

Ran wasn't any better, either. She almost never stopped touching him, whether it was a pat on the head or a grasp of the hand or even just and gentle hug, _she wouldn't stop_. Usually, he wouldn't mind so much, but he'd been extremely on edge lately what with Hakuba's suspicions and his agreement not to see Kid for a while lest they be discovered, and Ran would stubbornly stand with him. That was probably part of the reason Kid hadn't stopped in to see him after _three freaking weeks_.

Okay, so maybe he was making a big deal out of it, but dammit, he missed Kid. He couldn't help it, he just missed him. It wasn't like the way he'd missed Ran. With Ran, even if he wasn't himself, he was always able to see her, even if just as the cute little boy he was supposed to be. With Kid…he didn't have any way of seeing Kid without putting him in a lot of danger. Besides…what if Kid didn't want to see him? After all, he wasn't exactly…well, anything appealing. He was a little boy now, for god's sake.

"Ku-uh, Conan?" A dark-skinned head poked around the door to his hospital room. "You ready for the check up? Doc says you should be able to leave today. Right, Neechan?" Hattori Heiji grinned at the brunette woman sitting next to Conan's bed, clutching his hand tightly.

"Un." She nodded. "You ready, Conan-kun?"

Heaving a sigh, he nodded. "Hai."

"Well, ain't you enthusiastic?" Heiji laughed lightly. "What's wrong, Shrimp? Shouldn't ya be glad ta get outa here?"

"Sure." Conan muttered. Heiji frowned. What was wrong with him?

Ran frowned as well, squeezing his hand tighter. "Were are Conan-kun's parents? Weren't they just here?"

"Yeah, they went to see the doc already, I think."

"Well, let's go, Conan-kun." Ran smiled gently at him, tugging his arm slightly in the right direction.

Conan allowed himself to be dragged along limply, a gloom expression on his face. He hated being what he was. He hated being Conan. If he weren't Conan, he wouldn't have to act so childish, he wouldn't have to lie to Ran, and most of all, Kid would probably like him better if he weren't a grade school student.

On the other hand, being Conan was how he met Kid in the first place. Before, he was never really interested in thieves, participating only that once when Kid tried to steal the clock tower.

It was strange. At times, he absolutely _hated_ being Conan. And who could blame him? Look at everything Conan had ruined for him. But…he enjoyed being Conan. _That_ was what he really hated. Sure, he couldn't go through life hating everything, but he wasn't supposed to enjoy being like _this_!

He realized he was probably insecure, but…well, he'd never really had a relationship before and it was hard to believe someone could like him while he was like _this_.

He glanced up sluggishly when Ran rapped on a hard wood door – presumably the doctor's office – and a blast of cold air hit him. Shivering violently, Conan let out a sort of strangled gasp and jerked his hand away from the imprisoning grip, moving to wrap his arms around his body, conserving heat.

Five different voices shouted his name, but he recognized none of them as he dropped to his knees and whimpered. It was cold, it was dark, that man would be coming back. He didn't want that man to find him! He couldn't breathe. It was cold and it was suffocating. He wanted out, needed to get out – !

A soft hand brushed against his shoulder, gently turning him around slowly and he looked up into worried indigo eyes that held his gaze. Hands ran up and down his arms, warming him, and slowly, he began to come out of his shock.

Blinking, he stared at the nurse who knelt in front of him, mouth opening wordlessly. The nurse's lips quirked up in a smile he knew well and she rose back to her feet, one hand resting on his head.

"I think he's okay now, Doctor, just went into shock." She said in a lilting voice.

A man with a stubble beard nodded. "It's understandable. He's been through an immense psychological trauma recently and that was bound to leave its marks."

"A-are you sure he's alright, Sensei?" Ran asked, worriedly.

"Physically, he's fine. Emotionally…Conan-kun is going to need a lot of support to get through this, but there's nothing more that can be done here. I would like it if you'd bring him in for weekly check-ups and make sure to call if something happens, alright? Perhaps it would be wise to bring him to a counselor."

Ran nodded, a hand reaching out to take Conan's. She was surprised, however, when he jerked back slightly from her grasp. Hurt, she looked down at Conan and he smiled apologetically up at him.

The nurse glanced down at Conan, a surprised look in her eyes. From the other side of the room, Heiji stared at the 'kid' with a look of pure shock. Conan had never rejected Ran before in any way. What had changed?

Hand clenching in the child's hair lightly, the nurse smiled as Conan looked up at her. He unclenched his hand and patted the boy's head lightly before turning and leaving.

Ran frowned. Why was that nurse so close to Conan-kun? _She_ was the one who was supposed to be special to him. Why didn't Conan seem to love her as much anymore?

--

Ditching the maid outfit, Kuroba Kaito sighed deeply as he left the hospital. Gods, Conan's little attack had scared the shit out of him. He cursed himself. If only he'd stayed by Conan more, maybe he wouldn't have felt so…lost. Then again, the attack had more to do with the after-effects of his kidnapping rather than any personal emotions. Still…he had wanted to see Conan so bad lately. It had physically _hurt_ to stay away from him like he had. But he'd had to, he forced himself to in order to ward off Hakuba's suspicions.

It all seemed so pointless. Why did Hakuba have to be such a twit, dammit. Why couldn't he just freely see Shinichi like he wanted to? Why did life have to be so goddamn complicated?

--

Yusaku, in his guise as an older man, gazed anxiously at his son. Something was definitely wrong with Shinichi, and it wasn't just his recent clash with death. It was something much deeper, much more personal.

"Mouri-chan?" Yukiko – or rather, Edogawa Fumio – called. "Could we have a moment with Co-chan?"

Ran blinked at her in surprise. "Um, sure. Just, please, make sure he gets home?"

"Of course." Ran nodded and continued her way home. "Shin-chan?"

He looked up at them. "Yeah?"

"Has something happened, Shinichi?" Yusaku asked. "You seem so different than you were when we last saw you."

Shinichi winced slightly, the image of Kid flitted across his mind. He almost blurted out his entanglement with the thief, before clamping his teeth down on his tongue. Why should he tell them? He wasn't going to put Kid at risk for _them_. "Gee, I wonder why, considering how long it's been."

Yukiko gasped and Yusaku reeled back as if he'd been burned. "You – Shinichi – "

"Look, I'm fine, Otou-san. I may look like a kid in the single digits, but I'm not, okay? And even then, I have a different life here, one you have no part in." Conan said coldly. He turned sharply and marched off after Ran, determinedly not looking back. He didn't stand up to his parents often – he didn't exactly _see_ his parents often – but…maybe he'd been a little harsh? But why shouldn't he be? They'd up and left him when he was fourteen, only bothering to check in occasionally. Just because he was young again didn't mean that they could come in and suddenly be proper parents. He was used to being without them and he didn't need them.

Behind him, Yukiko dropped onto her knees, tears pouring down her face as she desperately clamped a hand over her mouth, muffling her sobs. Yusaku stood limply, frozen with shock.

--

Marching aimlessly, Conan grumbled to himself. He didn't want to go home, didn't want to face Ran, not now. He didn't want to go to the Kudo Mansion either, not with what had happened there. His…activities…with Kid still made him blush, but it was the events _after_ Kid left that made him shiver. That man, he'd be waiting for him, waiting to take him and lock him in the cold!

He knew that was irrational, of course. That man was in jail, he wouldn't be able to harm Conan anymore. Still, even though he knew that, he was still scared. Fear wasn't rational, after all.

It was kind of strange, the way he'd responded to this ordeal. He'd told Hattori it was because he'd come so close to dying – actually thought he _was_ dead – but he'd had experiences like that before and it hadn't effected him as much. Heck, he'd nearly died of blood loss from a bullet wound! But he'd never been so…traumatized before.

"Edogawa-kun?" A voice asked, pulling him out of his thoughts. Conan looked up into the face of the British detective and fought back a gasp. "Shouldn't you be in the hospital?" Hakuba asked.

"I got out this morning." Conan muttered. "I was just headed home."

"Really? And Mouri-chan didn't bring you home?"

"She left early so I could talk with my parents. They had to leave suddenly, though, so I'm headed home alone." It was kind of sad, actually, how he could lie without a second thought now. What happened to him preaching the truth?

"Why don't I walk you home, then?" Saguru offered. Conan stared. Well, shit, that wasn't really what he wanted. Still, he nodded politely and smiled. "Alright then." Hakuba smiled in return.

They walked in silence for some time while Hakuba kept fidgeting, presumably trying to figure out home to say something.

"Edogawa-kun…how do you…what's your association with Kaitou Kid?" He finally asked.

Conan gave him a flat glare. "I'm a detective trying to catch him. That's all." He deadpanned.

"I see…and his reasons for visiting you?"

Conan shrugged. "You're the expert on Kid. You know that he has a strange sense of concern for his opponents. I guess he was just checking up on me."

Hakuba nodded. That made sense, even if he didn't believe it. Kind of like how it made sense that Kuroba could refute his accusations, but he still didn't believe him. "So, you know nothing about him personally?"

Conan cocked an eyebrow. 'You actually expect me to tell you?' he thought incredulously. He shook his head, "Of course not, Saguru-niichan."

"Right." The look on his face showed anything but agreement. "Well, we're here." Saguru motioned to the apartment they now stood outside of. "Good day."

Conan waved and groaned. He just couldn't get a break, could he? "Tadima, Ran-neechan." He said, unenthusiastically.

"Okari, Conan-kun!" She called happily from the kitchen. "Why don't you wash up. I've got a great dinner prepared for you.

He complied and came back to the living room, sitting down across from Kogoro. "Oi, Ran, what's all this food for?" Kogoro asked.

"To celebrate Conan-kun's return home, of course!" She beamed.

Conan smile weakly and ate quickly. He tried to be happy for Ran, he really did, but…well, he just felt down. There were all the issues with his kidnapping and Kid, and then that deal with his parents…

Once dinner was over, he excused himself to his room with the excuse that he was tired. Flopping onto his 'bed', he sighed deeply. He _was_ tired, tired of putting up with Hakuba's suspicions, tired of hiding from Ran, tired of abusing his body by taking antidotes…

He chuckled humorlessly. Hadn't he been ranting about how tired he was to Kid when this first began? Too bad Kid wasn't here now to take his mind off it. With another deep sigh, he drifted off to sleep.

--

He awoke to cool lips brushing against his forehead. Blinking wearily, he noticed he wasn't wearing the glasses he's forgotten to take off before falling asleep. A boy with messy brown hair and a serene smile sat next to him, gloved hand brushing through Conan's hair. Kid…or rather Kaito as the thief wasn't wearing his trademark suit, but instead a dark colored sweatshirt and slacks.

"You look worn out." Kaito said softly.

"Yeah," Conan mumbled. "I had a fight with my parents…" He sighed. "Oh yeah, ran into Hakuba, too." Kaito's hand tightened in his hair slightly, concern flashing through his eyes. "He questioned me some, but left it at that." He brought his hand up to rest on top of Kaito's arm. "He doesn't know anything. He may suspect, but he doesn't seem the type to believe in shrinking and I doubt he'd accuse you of anything with Conan."

Kaito quirked his lips into a smile. "That's true. But ignoring anything intimate, if he even openly accuses you of actively helping Kid, you're credibility will be shot."

"You did say he's not the type to accuse without proof." Conan pointed out. "At least, not twice, anyway. And anyway, I'm not helping you!" He frowned.

"Right, right," Kaito laughed, "still gonna catch me, huh?"

"Damn straight, baka." Conan grumbled.

"Good." Kaito leaned down and kissed him briefly. "It's always more fun when you're chasing me."

"Thrill junkie," Conan murmured, leaning forward as well to meet Kaito's lips, feeling them curve up in a smile. Flicking out his tongue, he explored the thief's mouth greedily. After a good minute of allowing Conan some measure domination, Kaito retaliated, twisting his tongue with Conan's, smirking when the boy let out a small moan.

A loud scream made them jerk apart, staring at each other in confusion. After the loud shout, it was eerily silent and both thief and detective looked uncomfortable.

"Could you tell where it came from?" Conan asked quietly.

"Was kinda distracted." Kaito muttered, face pink.

Conan's lips quirked up, pink spreading over his cheeks, but he ignored it. "Check outside. I'll go find Ran and Occhan, see if they're okay." He whispered.

"10-4," Kaito saluted, vaulting out the window. Conan smiled exasperatedly and hurried to check on the other residents of the Mouri Detective Agency.

"Ran-neechan?" He called softly, knocking on her door. Unlatched, it creaked open as he tapped it. "Ran-neechan?" Frowning at the lack of reply, he reached up and barely managed to flip on the lights, the switch well over his head.

The bed was empty.

Conan's eyes widened. No way. She couldn't have gotten kidnapped…or worse.

He flew out of the room and pounded on the door to Occhan's room. Fearing the worst at the silence that met him, he jumped up and pulled on the handle, swinging his body to get the door to open. Thankfully, Mouri was inside. Unfortunately, he wouldn't wake up. "No use." Conan groaned. "Stupid drunk."

He left the unconscious 'detective' alone and checked around the house, hoping against hope he'd find Ran somewhere in there.

He turned on the lights in the office, glancing around in despair. 'Ran…'

A tap on the window made him spin around. Another tap, and this time he saw the small stone falling away from the window. He hurried over and unlatched it, pulling it open. Kaito was standing on the streets and waved at him with a solemn gesture.

"Call the police," he said sadly. "There's been a death."

Eyes wide, Conan hurried to the phone as did as asked before practically flying down the stairs and outside, colliding with Kaito when he couldn't stop in time. "Whoa there," Kaito wrapped his arms around him, steadying him. "She's over here." He lead the child to an alley between two buildings near them.

"Ran?" He asked numbly.

Confused, Kaito shook his head. "I don't know her. You might, but…I tried to help her when I found her, but when I found her, it was too late." He said sorrowfully,

Conan nodded, reaching up to grasp Kaito's hand. "It's not your fault." He murmured. Squeezing the hand, he dropped it and moved forward to check the body. "She's still warm. Rigor mortis hasn't even set in yet. She must've died just before you reached her." He inspected the body thoroughly while Kaito stood back. Trying to fight off nausea.

Sirens were wailing in the distance and Conan jerked around to look at the thief. "Kaito…"

"Hmm?" The thief didn't look too good, clothes covered with blood in certain places.

"You…the police…"

Kaito shook his head. "It's illegal to leave the scene of a murder, Tantei-kun, even I know that."

"And it's illegal to break and enter. That doesn't stop you. It's illegal to impersonate a minor. That doesn't stop me." Conan sighed. 'I just don't want you to get implicated."

"I know," Kaito said softly, "I know. But I can't just leave, Tantei-kun. There may have been something I saw that could help." Outside, he was calm. Inside, he was completely shocked. Tantei-kun was trying to convince him to break the law, break very thing he held so highly, all to protect him. Kaito suddenly had difficultly swallowing around the lump in his throat. He…Tantei-kun had set aside his beliefs, for _him_.

However, Conan shook his head. "And how are you supposed to explain why you're miles from home at 2 o'clock in the morning? And why you're wearing gloves?"

"Er…" Shit, Kaito hadn't thought of that. "But I can't just – "

Conan cut him off. "Leave the scene. And…look for Ran, will you? She wasn't inside. I don't know what might have happened to her." He confessed, biting his lip.

Kaito's eyes softened. "Alright. But you'd better catch the killer, Tantei-kun."

"Of course," Conan smirked as the wailing sirens began to get closer. Kaito grinned and vanished, how, he wasn't sure, because there was no accompanying flash or smoke. Still, he was gone, and the police were pulling up to him a minute later.

Megure sighed as soon as he got out of the squad car. "How do you manage to run into murders so soften, Conan-kun? You're worse than Mouri-kun." Conan sweatdropped. He was usually the reason Occhan was at the scene at all.

"I heard the scream about two minutes before I called the police. When I found the body, she's already died." Conan said professionally.

Megure frowned. Something about that sounded off. He heard the scream before he called. He didn't say he fount the body before he called in a death. "Is there anything more you can say?" He asked as the forensics people attended to the scene.

"I don't think so. Did she die from blood loss or from the wound?"

"It looks to be a knife wound, but we'll have to check with the coroner." A forensics officer said. "Considering the amount of blood in the alley, she could have died from blood loss."

Megure nodded as another squad car showed up and Takagi Wataru stepped out, bags under his eyes. It was quite clear he was _not_ happy to be called in for the night shift. "The victim's name was Hifumi Nanako, 27. According to one of Division Two's people – they're drinking buddies – she just broke it off with her boyfriend. They say he's got quite a temper and has threatened her in the past. No other suspects at this time. Shiratori-san has gone to pick him up."

"Good. Question people in the surrounding buildings, see if they heard or saw anything."

"Yes sir." Takagi saluted unenthusiastically.

Megure glanced down at Conan again. "Where's Ran-kun and Mouri-kun?" He asked. They should know better than to let the kid out alone at a crime scene, especially at this of night.

"Occhan's drunk and won't wake up. I…I'm not sure where Ran-neechan is. She wasn't in the house." Conan worried at his lip.

"She's missing!?" Megure questioned, alarmed. Behind him, EMTs loaded the body into an ambulance.

"Well, I don't know for sure. I went to bed early and something might've happened before I woke up." Conan said unsure.

Megure nodded, a troubled frown gracing his feature. "I'm afraid we can't do anything for 72 hours unless you have some sort of evidence of violence. But don't worry, Ran-kun probably just wandered somewhere and forgot to leave a note. Her father should know."

"Yeah, I know." Conan sighed. He understood why the law was in place, but if something happened to Ran…then again, he had Kid looking for her and if he couldn't find her, the police probably couldn't either. Which was not really a comforting thought.

"Have you tried calling her?"

Conan shook his head. "It was still in her room. She's been keeping her cell phone off because it can interfere with equipment at the hospital."

Megure looked like he was about to say something, but another squad car pulled up at that point. "Megure-keibu," Shiratori Ninzaburou called, exiting the car and helping a man out of the back. "This is Kurumi Kaoru, the victim's boyfriend." Said man looked distraught even with his head bowed and his dark hair falling over his face. Shiratori turned back to the keibu, "The coroner called, said the cause of death was blood loss. The weapon was a knife and it severed a major artery. The victim died quickly."

Nodding, Megure said, "I see. The murderer would have disposed of the knife, possibly near the crime scene. Search the area!" He directed to his men.

"What if the murderer took it with him, though?" Conan asked. He eyed the suspect they'd brought in. The man seemed sincerely sorrowful over the passing of his ex, but it wouldn't be the first time a murderer mourned their victim.

He needed more information. There was motive, yes, but he was no novice at detective work. Many people had motives to kill, hardly any of them acted on them. And you sure needed more than a motive to prove they did in a court room.

"Sir!" Takagi ran up to his boss, a middle aged man trailing after him. "This man, he saw something!"

"Who are you?" Megure questioned.

"I – my name is Zulu Noa. I live in an apartment on the third floor. It was…about two o'clock – I was up because my son was out partying and forgot his key, so I wanted to let him in – when I heard the scream. It sounded like it came from somewhere close, so I looked out the window. It was dark and I couldn't see anything very well, but I could swear I saw the shadow of a person running out of the alley."

"Do you know if it was a male or female?" Conan asked.

The man looked, down, confusion settling on his face, but since the police didn't seem alarmed at a little kid doing the questioning for them, he continued. "No, but the figure was wearing a bright colored shirt. I couldn't tell which color, I'm afraid I'm colorblind, but it stood out in the dark."

Conan frowned. Why would someone wear bright colors to commit a crime? Especially a crime that reeks of premeditation. It looked as if someone had lured her out to the alley, but why would they do such wearing something that would attract attention?

Could it have been unplanned? But that didn't fit. Maybe…no. Conan's frown deepened. Dammit, he was stuck. That was not a position he generally enjoyed.

Okay, maybe if he thought in someone else's mindset. That would at least give him a different perspective.

Alright, the victim broke up with her boyfriend recently, possibly only hours before her demise. Then, only a little before two in the morning, someone lured her to the alley and caught her off guard, stabbing her in the abdominal aorta. The victim died of blood loss only minutes after getting injured. According to the neighbor living in the one of the buildings above, the perp was wearing bright colored clothing, but which color was unclear. The neighbor also couldn't say whether the perp was male or female.

"_The best way to hide is in plain sight._"

"_If you don't want people to remember you, stand out with a fake feature. Once you've left, all they'll remember is that feature._"

Conan blinked. Where had he heard those before? Oh well, it didn't matter.

If the perp had intentionally worn something to stand out, than they might've expected to be seen. But who would they anticipate noticing them at two am?

And yet, someone _did_ see them. Someone whose description was vague enough to be unreliable, but clear enough not to be dismissed. Someone who just happened to have an excuse for staying up late enough to 'witness' the murder. Someone the police weren't double checking the story on because he was just a witness.

But what about the boyfriend? He certainly had motive, but did he have means and opportunity? Could he just be an innocent bystander or could he have participated in the crime, either as the murderer or as an accomplice?

Conan wandered over to the mourning man. Was he really sad? "Hey, niichan, were you close to that onee-san?"

The man started, gazing at him in surprise. "I…yes, yes we were. She was my girlfriend. But she broke up with me because of a stupid mistake." A broken sob escaped him. "I never even got the chance to apologize to her. Maybe…maybe if we hadn't broken up, she wouldn't have come out here and wouldn't have…" He broke off, crying.

He didn't sound like a killer. Not that he couldn't just be a good actor, but Conan didn't think so. This man was truly sorrowful that the girl had died.

What was he missing? Where did Zulu come in?

"Megure-keibu!" Takagi ran over to him. Conan sidled over, unnoticed. "I just talked to Hifumi-san's boss. She worked at a bank downtown. As a precaution, her boss was checking all the accounts and noticed that fifty thousand yen was gone. She was embezzling."

Did that add the boss and any colleagues to the list of suspects?

Conan walked away, eyeing Zulu. He didn't trust that man. Conan was sure he was involved somehow, as something more than a witness. But how? He didn't even know the victim…did he?

"Hey, Noa-niichan, where do you work?" Conan asked, once again catching someone off guard.

"Eh? Fuji Finances."

"Fuji Finances? Isn't that a bank?" Conan asked, eyes narrowing.

"What? No, I mean…I used to work there. Years ago. I-I work at a convenience store." Zulu stuttered.

"Really? Which one?"

"Uh…er, isn't it past your bedtime, boy?"

"Hai." Conan cheered. So, he worked in a bank, huh? What were the chances it was the same bank Hifumi-san was embezzling from? "Takagi-keiji!" He called. "What bank did Hifumi-san work at?"

"Eh?" Takagi glanced at Megure. He was always getting yelled at for giving information to Conan-kun, but Conan-kun could usually help them figure things out and it was so early in the morning and he just wanted to go home and sleep… "She worked at Fuji Finances. Why? Are you familiar with the bank?"

"Could you call the boss and ask if Zulu Noa-san works there?"

"Huh?" Takagi blinked. "What makes you think he worked there?"

"He mentioned he used to work there. I wondered if he still did. But why would he lie?" Conan pretended to ponder while Takagi's eyes widened and he dialed the number on his cell.

After a few minutes of talking, Takagi hung up and flagged down Megure-keibu to discuss a new theory. All the while, Conan was wearing a triumphant smirk. All thoughts of Ran had vanished from his mind.

"The boss of Fuji Finances said that Zulu-san and Hifumi-san worked together. Hifumi-san was embezzling, it's possible that Zulu-san participated as well. If Hifumi-san got greedy and refused to split the money with Zulu-san, or if Zulu-san didn't want to share with Hifumi-san…"

"Zulu-san, can you prove you were in your apartment just before two o'clock in the morning?" Megure asked.

"I…I was alone, but…hey, I'm just here to help. I saw the criminal run away. I told you that."

"Yes you did. And yet, you didn't tell us your association with the victim."

"I-I didn't know her. Look, I told you already, the criminal was wearing a bright color and ran away after stabbing the girl in the stomach!" Zulu yelled.

Megure paused. "How did you know she was stabbed in the stomach, Zulu-san?"

The man's eyes widened. "I…she was a selfish bitch! She wouldn't give me the money I deserved. She wanted to save it for her boyfriend, she said. But she'd broken up with the fool and she still wouldn't give me the money. Bitch said they were going to get back together and that she would need to money for them to live happily together." He glared at Kurumi-san. "That stupid, greedy bitch deserved to die. And you deserve it, too. If it weren't for you, I'd have gotten my money, dammit." Silently, Shiratori came forward and cuffed him, leading him to the squad car.

"Conan-kun, if you don't hear from Ran-chan for another day and Mouri-kun doesn't know where she is, make sure you report it, alright? Or if you find evidence of a fight or some sort of violence." Megure said.

"Okay." Conan nodded. He frowned. How could he have forgotten that Ran was missing? He headed back to the apartment, deep in thought. What could have happened to her?

Conan let out a loud gasp when he collided with something much bigger than him. Looking up, he found himself the center of Kaito's confused stare.

"You okay? Not paying very good attention, were you?" He asked. Conan bit his lip. "I found Mouri-chan. She's staying with her friend Suzuki-san for the night. She apparently called after you'd fallen asleep and left without putting out a note because her father had heard the call."

Conan sighed in relief and wrapped his arms around Kaito lightly. Kaito reached down to his knees and picked the boy up. "Your welcome," He whispered in the detective's ear.

Conan buried his head in the thief's neck. "I can't take murders this early in the morning." He yawned, his breath warm against Kaito's neck.

Kaito tangled his hand in the boy's hair, rocking him slightly. "You're exhausted, Tantei-kun. Get some sleep."

Conan's hand fisted in his shirt. "You'll be gone when I wake up," He said faintly.

"I'll come see you soon, love. I can't stay with you always, but I will when I can." Kaito rubbed Conan's back. "I will when I can." He repeated.


End file.
